Indiana State men’s basketball is taking a three-game win streak on its swing trip to Iowa after defeating Valparaiso on Wednesday night inside Hulman Center, 80-62. Indiana State improved to 12-12, 6-7 MVC while Valpo fell to 10-14, 3-10 MVC.
Valparaiso took an early lead, but two Camp Wagner three-pointers held the Sycamores in the game through the media time out at 14:23 with Valpo leading 12-10.
After a layup by Aaron Gray out of the timeout, Valpo’s Cooper Schwieger went on a personal 7-0 run to put the Beacons ahead 19-12 with just over 10 minutes to play in the half.
The Sycamores responded with a 9-0 run of their own, all from Jayan Walker (3) and Samage Teel (6). After a layup by the Beacons, the Sycamores went on another 15-6 run to lead 36-27 with 58 seconds on the clock. Eight points were scored in the stretch by Wagner. Teel closed out the half with a bang, draining a running three-pointer at the buzzer sending Indiana State into the locker room with a 39-31 lead.
The Sycamores and Beacons opened the half exchanging couple baskets, but Indiana State jumped out to a 15-point lead with 13:52 to play with a 13-5 run over a four-minute span. Wagner started the run with another three-pointer, then Gray scored five-straight with a layup and a triple, then Bruno Alocen closed it out with a three-pointer of his own.
K’mani Doughty drained a triple with 13 minutes to play, and a couple minutes later Jaden Daughtry slammed home a dunk for his first basket of the game, giving the Sycamores a 60-41 lead. Indiana State took its first 20-point lead with another Alocen three-pointer with 10:25 on the clock.
The next nine points between the two games were all from the free throw line before Gray broke away for another two-handed slam with 9:18 left in the game.
The game closed out with each team exchanging baskets. For the Sycamores, Doughty drilled another triple with 7:25 left in the game. With just over two minutes to play, Daughtry drove the lane and brought the Sycamore crowd to their feet with a massive two-handed dunk, putting the Sycamores ahead 20 points again, 76-56.
With 46 seconds left, Wagner made his sixth three-pointer of the game, marking a new career high, followed Daughtry capping the game with a free throw to give Indiana State the 80-62 victory.
Camp Wagner led the way for Indiana State with his second-straight game of 22 points, shooting 7-for-14 from the field and 6-for-13 from three. He pulled down five rebounds and finished with no turnovers. Both Samage Teel and K’mani Doughty neared double-double territory. Teel scored 17 points going 5-for-5 from the free throw line, dished out nine rebounds, and recorded four rebounds. Doughty finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, finishing 4-for-7 from deep. Aaron Gray scored 12 points and tallied seven rebounds.
Valparaiso was paced by All Wright with 35 points and Cooper Schwieger with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
News & Notes
- The win marked a three-game win streak for Indiana State.
- The Sycamores shot 42.9% from three, the third time this season finishing 40.0% or better from beyond the arc.
- In the second half, the Sycamores shot 8-of-17 from three (47.1%).
- Indiana State recorded 22 assists, the most since December 21 against UHSP (27). The Sycamores assisted on 22-of-28 field goals.
- The 15 made three-pointers tie the season-best effort, occurring only three times this season (November 12 against SIUE, November 22 against Chicago State).
- The Sycamores recorded a season-best 11 turnovers.
- Indiana State scored 12 points off eight offense rebounds.
- There were five different players with 2+ assists (Teel, 2; Doughty, 4; Harding, Gray, Alocen, 2).
- Camp Wagner tied his season high in scoring with 22 points and set a new career high in three-pointers with six.
- Wagner is 15-for-33 from deep (45.5%) in the last three games.
- Samage Teel dished out nine assists, tying for his most in MVC action. His career high is 11 assists set at Ball State on November 16.
- Teel is 18-for-20 from the line in the last four games.
- K’mani Doughty set a new career high in rebounds with nine.
- From three, Doughty is 6-for-11 in the last two games.
- Bruno Alocen knocked down two three-pointers, the most in the last four games.
- With a 6-for-8 effort tonight, Aaron Gray in the last five games is shooting 66.7% from the field.
Up Next
Indiana State hits the road for a two-game swing trip to Iowa. The Sycamores take on Drake on Saturday, February 8 at 6 p.m. ET before battling Northern Iowa on Tuesday, February 11 at 8 p.m. ET. Both games will air on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
