TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — Dwayne Lathan scored 15 points and Jake Odum 14 to lead Indiana State to a 61-54 victory against Drake on Wednesday night. Odum had seven rebounds for the Sycamores (14-9, 5-7), who outscored Drake 36-16 in the paint en route to winning their third straight game. Rayvonte Rice scored 17 points and Ben Simons 13 for the Bulldogs (13-10, 6-6), who shot just 33 percent (18 of 54) from the field. Both teams were playing their first games since having to work overtime last weekend. Drake needed three extra periods to outlast Wichita State 93-86 on Saturday night, and Indiana State beat Evansville 90-81 in double overtime on Sunday. Lathan’s layup gave the Sycamores a 53-48 lead with 2:09 remaining. The Bulldogs failed to score on their next two possessions. Indiana State made eight free throws in the last 51 seconds, providing the cushion to withstand late 3-pointers by Rice and Kurt Alexander for Drake.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Born three months premature, Cliff Stokes usually was the smallest kid in his class as a youngster. Then he started growing and now he represents Iowa State’s new focus in recruiting defensive backs, a player with the height needed to take on the tall receivers the Cyclones face in the Big 12 Conference. The 6-foot, 180-pounder out of Trinity Valley Community College in Texas was among the 21 recruits who signed with Iowa State on Wednesday, a group that included five defensive backs. Four of the five defensive backs who signed are at least 6 feet tall, while the other is 5-10. Iowa State often has played cornerbacks who were 5-8 or 5-9. One of the starters last year, Jeremy Reeves, is 5-7.

Iowa State also signed five defensive linemen and place-kicker Cole Netten of Ankeny. Iowa State’s two kickers last season, Grant Mahoney and Zach Guyer were seniors, so the job appears to be Netten’s to lose. Netten went 11-for-14 on field goals last season, including a 47-yarder. One of the defensive backs who signed, Luke Knott of Lee’s Summit, Mo., is the brother of all-Big 12 linebacker Jake Knott, who’ll be a senior in the fall. Another, Damein Lawry of Dallas, played high school football for coach Elize Barnett, whose brother Duke is the father of ISU quarterback Jared Barnett.Rhoads said the 10-year, $20 million contract he signed in mid-December will help in recruiting because it shows stability in the program. He said he can be honest when parents asks if he’ll be at Iowa State until their son graduates. “I never as an assistant coach, a coordinator, a head coach looked them in the eye and told them with absolute certainty, yes,” Rhoads said. “Because chances are, it would be a lie. I think this long-term commitment by the university shows where we’re at in the direction we want to take this program.”

Iowa State’s class is generally ranked near the bottom of the Big 12, but Rhoads shrugged that off. “We’re trying to recruit the right guys that fit our philosophy and our program,” he said. “We’re not caught up in stars or golden apples or whatever they attach to a player.”