'Best birthday ever.' Jayson Kent turns 22, grabs 20 rebounds and helps get ISU 20th win

TERRE HAUTE — As Indiana State basketball sealed its 75-67 victory over Drake on Saturday night, the Sycamores student section broke into song.

It was an ode to junior Jayson Kent, who, along with a career game, is celebrating his 22nd birthday.

Happy birthday to you / happy birthday to you / happy birthday dear Jayson / happy birthday to you! Students yelled as Kent made his way to the locker room, stopping to sign autographs for a seemingly never-ending line of young Sycamores fans.

“Best birthday ever,” Kent said, laughing, postgame. “But it’s not done yet.”

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He was crucial in Indiana State’s win over Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake, as he grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds — the most for an ISU player since 1997.

“Today was just an off offensive day for me,” Kent said. “So I knew that in order for us to get the win, I had to rebound more, and get those 50-50 rebounds and be a big rebounding guy. At the end of the day, I trust these guys to finish a game and they trust me to clean up the boards for them, so that’s what I had to do tonight.”

His rebounding Saturday night was just the high point of a recent streak for Kent — the second time he’s set a career-high on the glass in three games. His previous career high of 16 came in an OT win over Bradley on Jan. 27, where he played all 45 minutes.

Kent’s play was crucial for the Sycamores, especially on a night where coach Josh Schertz said everyone, not just Kent, was struggling to make shots. The Sycamores had a season-low 7-of-30 showing beyond the arc, and Schertz thought they struggled from the free-throw line, going 18-of-24.

“Out of the 20 wins we’ve had so far, that’s my favorite, because we had to find a way to win on a day where we couldn’t make shots,” Schertz said. “... We had to win that game on our grit, on our toughness, get it out the mud, and I love those kinds of games. It says a lot about the fortitude and the toughness of our guys.”

Kent transferred to Indiana State from Bradley ahead of the 2022-23 season, and he didn’t come in as a potent rebounder. He averaged just 2.3 rebounds per game with Indiana State last year — something Schertz made clear had to change.

Schertz said this season, he was hoping Kent would double his rebounding average. Instead, he’s on his way to tripling it.

“It’s amazing how the jump has been for him,” Schertz said. “ … I was thinking if we could get him into the 5.5, 6 (rebounds per game) range, that would be terrific. He’s going to triple it, or quadruple it, he’s just been amazing.”

Sure, Kent didn’t have a good game offensively. He scored just six points on 3-of-7 shooting — well below his season average of 13.6 — and went 0-of-3 from the free-throw line.

But it didn’t faze him — instead, it motivated him to be better defensively.

Those 20 rebounds aside, Kent had the biggest defensive play of the game with 30 seconds left while the Sycamores were up three points. He shut down reigning MVC Player of the Year Tucker DeVries under the basket, blocking his shot and forcing DeVries to foul. His block sealed the victory for the Sycamores, as the Bulldogs couldn’t manage to make another shot.

“When they told me, ‘Do you want to guard him?’ I accepted the challenge,” Kent said. “I knew he’s a good player, so I took it personal. I just wanted to show people I can guard the best player in the league, and that’s what I did.”

ISU’s win over Drake cements the Sycamores’ at the top of the MVC — Indiana State is now leading second-place Drake by two games.

With eight games left in the season, the Sycamores have the look of an an NCAA tournament team, something it hasn't been since 2011. Whether they’re the conference’s automatic qualifier or they've done enough to receive an at-large bid, we'll wait and see.

“We just try to take it one game at a time,” said center Robbie Avila, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds. ”But for us to get a win like this at home, with such a great environment, it’s awesome. We just have to keep it going.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana State basketball: Sycamores stay atop MVC with win over Drake