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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- No. 21 Iowa State kept firing away until some of its shots finally began to drop.Monte Morris scored 20 points and Matt Thomas shrugged off a cold shooting performance to make a 3-pointer that put his team ahead for good, and the Cyclones held off Indiana State 73-71 in the opening game of the AdvoCare Invitational at Disney World on Thursday.We know we can make shots. Just have to adapt to the atmosphere, Morris said after Iowa State (4-0) remained unbeaten despite shooting 34.2 percent from the field and barely making half its free throws.Nobody on the sideline was out of the game. Everyone was engaged, Morris added. I think we all stayed together. We always had confidence.Thomas was just 2 of 10 from the field. He put the Cyclones ahead with his second 3-pointer with 54 seconds remaining. Nazareth Mitrou-Long made one of two free throws with 7.6 seconds left, and Indiana States hopes for an upset ended when Brenton Scotts 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer.Obviously very disappointed. ... We had a chance to be beat an awful good team, Indiana State coach Greg Lansing said.We were right there. Coach drew up a play for us to execute the last second. Unfortunately my shot didnt go in, Scott said. Its a salty loss. Its a salty taste. ... Its going to hurt me for a while.Iowa State (4-0) advanced to the tournament semifinals, despite going 5 for 15 from the foul line over the final 10 minutes. The Cyclones trailed for most of the first half before using an 11-0 run to wipe out a nine-point deficit.Morris, who also had nine rebounds, was joined in double figures by Mitrou-Long and Darrell Bowie with 13 apiece. Deonte Burton and Thomas, who missed eight of 10 shots from the field, each finished with 10.Scott led Indiana State (2-2) with 20 points on 7 of 18 shooting, a pair of long 3-pointers that gave the Sycamores leads in the closing minutes. Laquarious Paige came off the bench to score a career-high 20, and reserve TJ Bell had 10 points and 11 rebounds.BIG PICTUREThis tournament provides the first real test of the young season for Iowa State, which won its first three games over Savannah State, Mount St. Marys and The Citadel by an average of 42 points. The Cyclones start five seniors, but Indiana State is an experienced team, too. The Sycamores hung tough, making a final push after falling behind 54-48, but didnt have to enough to put the game away when they climbed back on top.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe AdvoCare field features two teams ranked in the Top 25, Iowa State and No. 11 Gonzaga. Three others teams the Cyclones could wind up facing at Disney World -- Florida, Seton Hall and Miami -- are perched just outside the Top 25 in this weeks Associated Press poll .SHAKY FROM THE LINEIowa State might have been able to put the Sycamores away earlier if not for poor free-throw shooting. The Cyclones went 15 for 29 from the foul line, including just 5 of 15 over the last 9:46.SCOTT LEADS THE WAYScott entered the tournament leading the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring at 22.3 points per game. The junior was 7 of 18 from the field, including 4 of 10 from behind the 3-point line. Paige is a sophomore whose previous career high was 8 points. He had been averaging just 4.7 before Thursday.UP NEXTThe Cyclones will meet Miami (4-0) in the semifinals of the eight-team tournament on Friday. 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Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. CLEVELAND -- Two days later, the pain has diminished -- a little.The cruel sting of losing Game 7 hasnt completely left the Cleveland Indians.We all want to hoist that World Series trophy, team president Chris Antonetti said Friday, so it hurt when we lost.At the same time the Chicago Cubs were parading down Michigan Avenue after winning their first title in 108 years, the Indians -- who pushed the National League champions into extra innings in an unforgettable season finale before losing 8-7 -- took the first steps toward getting back to the Series in 2017.For Antonetti, who has been with the club for 18 years, there is some comfort in what the Indians did this season. But hell never be satisfied completely until Clevelands title quest is finished.We went to Game 7 of the World Series, that in and of itself is an accomplishment, he said. Not the ultimate one were striving for, but still a great organizational accomplishment.With deadlines approaching and no time for pity, the Indians jumped right into the offseason by locking up manager Terry Francona through 2020.The club exercised its contract options for 2019 and 2020 on the 57-year-old manager, who did a remarkable job in steering the Indians around numerous obstacles to get them to their first Series since 1997.Cleveland overcame key injuries, suspensions and questions about their legitimacy as title contenders under Francona, who in his fourth season got the Indians within one win of their first title since 1948.He did a masterful job, Antonetti said. The way in which Tito is constantly thinking about how to place individual players in a position to be successful, to most impact the team, is always extraordinary. He does that first and foremost by building really deep relationships with guys, where they know he cares and he has their best interest in mind, and hes always going to find a way for them to be the best versions of themselves.Hes done that from the day he got here. As high as our expectations were for Tito when we hired him, hes gone beyond that. Were really fortunate to have him.Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff also praised Franconas willingness to include everyone in Clevelands front office on major decisions.Hes five steps ahead of all of us [on the field], Chernoff said. Thats just a small part of it. Hes broken down barriers organizationally for us, whether its scouting, player development, that connection people feel internally, and hes done it on the field with the team and in the clubhouse. And the culture he hhas helped to build, a lot of the resiliency you see, the grit you saw in this team, is a product of that culture.dddddddddddd Its not any one move that he made.The Indians have had four straight winning seasons under Francona, who won two titles with Boston. Hes become wildly popular in Cleveland, where he can be seen riding his motorized scooter to the ballpark and where fans have embraced his everyman persona, enthusiasm and self-deprecating sense of humor.Along with rewarding Francona, the Indians exercised their $12 million option on slugger Carlos Santana for next season. The move was expected after Santana belted 34 homers while splitting time at first and designated hitter.Cleveland declined a $13 million option on outfielder Coco Crisp, who gets a $750,000 buyout.The switch-hitter had a few key hits in the postseason and a .208 batting average with two home runs and eight RBIs for the Indians in the regular season after being acquired from the Athletics on Aug. 31.The trade returned Crisp, who turned 37 on Tuesday, to the team he broke into the majors with in 2002.Antonetti also said the club has expressed to first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Rajai Davis that they would like to re-sign the potential free agents. The team has until Monday to make qualifying offers to both. Napolis is worth $17.2 million.In his first season with Cleveland, Napoli reached career highs in homers, plate appearances and RBIs. The 35-year-old struggled in the postseason, but Antonetti said the team will take into account the balance of the season.Mike did a phenomenal job for us, he said. He made a huge impact for us on the field and in the clubhouse, and I think thats the lens through which well view it.Davis, too, helped the Indians to their first American League Central title since 2007. The 35-year-old led the league in stolen bases and helped them offset the loss of All-Star Michael Brantley.And for a little while, Davis hit the biggest homer in Cleveland history. His two-run shot in the eighth inning of Game 7 off Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman tied the score 6-6 before Chicago scored two in the 10th.Antonetti and Chernoff were together in a suite and couldnt contain their emotions.I didnt even try, Antonetti said.I almost fell out of the booth, Chernoff said.And next time, they hope to celebrate after the Series.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '