Indiana State men’s basketball snapped its six-game win streak with a 72-67 home victory on Wednesday night, defeated the Missouri State Bears. Indiana State improved to 10-12, 4-7 MVC while MSU fell to 7-15, 0-11 MVC.
The first points of the game came from K’mani Doughty with a spin, drive, and reverse layup 2:15 into the game, followed by Aaron Gray finishing a tough and-one three minutes into the game. Those five points and a layup from MSU were the only points at the first media break at 15:52.
MSU took their first lead of the game on a three-pointer with 11:07 on the clock, 13-12. It was part of a Missouri State 9-0 run over a 5:16 span, where the Sycamores committed five of their 10 first-half turnovers.
The Bears’ run stretched to 16-0 as Indiana State recorded a scoring drought stretching a total of 7:15 and giving Missouri State the 22-12 advantage with 6:15 remaining in the half. Markus Harding ended the drought with a free throw.
The Sycamores recorded four offensive rebounds in consecutive possessions, both resulting in points on the board for Indiana State from Gray and Daughtry. The Bears countered with baskets of their own and led 29-19 with 2:46 remaining.
Indiana State scored six points to close the half all from the free throw line, courtesy of Bruno Alocen, Daughtry, and Gray, to trail 36-26 at the break.
Four Sycamore points within the first minute of the second half forced a quick Missouri State timeout. A Camp Wagner left-wing three brought the Sycamores back within five, 37-32, with 17:15 on the clock.
After six points from the Bears, Daughtry recorded back-to-back layups and converted the conventional three-point play on the second make. That brought Indiana State within six, 43-37 just over five minutes into the second half.
Stout Sycamore defense forced three MSU turnovers and no made baskets from the 15:35 to 9:43, but Indiana State still trailed 46-40.
In that span, Samage Teel got fouled driving to the rim and knocked down the pair, putting the Sycamores back within a basket, 43-40 with 10:13 left to play in the game.
Missouri State made its next four buckets, opposed to Indiana State making one basket and three free throws. The Bears held an eight-point advantage, 53-48, with just under eight minutes left in the game.
After MSU jumped back out to a nine-point advantage, Teel and Wagner combined to secure a 7-2 Sycamore run to cut into the deficit again, this time putting Indiana State down 61-57 at the under-four media timeout at 3:46. At this point of the game, both offenses caught fire as Indiana State made its last five-of-five baskets while MSU made eight of their last nine.
Wagner brought the Sycamore Faithful to their feet, draining a three-pointer from the right corner to trail 62-60 with 2:53 left to play.
The two teams exchanged buckets in the next two possessions, then with 1:15 to play Wagner drilled another three-pointer to tie the ballgame at 65 apiece. After a made layup by the Bears, Teel brought the ball down the court, pulled up from the wing, and drained a triple to put the Sycamore up one point, 68-67, with 52 seconds on the clock. It was Indiana State’s first lead since MSU took a 13-12 lead at the 11:07 mark in the first half.
Jayan Walker slid in the passing lane in the ensuing MSU possession to put the ball back in the hands of Indiana State. The Bears fouled Teel sending him to the line twice with 22 seconds left then again with 10 seconds left, but the senior knocked down all four to give Indiana State the 72-67 lead.
The Sycamores went on to hold that five-point lead and take the 72-67 victory.
Samage Teel scored a game-high 20 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field and 2-for-4 from three, all in the second half. Teel was 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Jaden Daughtry scored 18 points with a 6-for-11 effort from the floor, grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Camp Wagner finished with 14 points with four three-pointers, all in the second half. Aaron Gray notched 12 points on a perfect shooting night (3-for-3 from the field, 1-for-1 from three, 5-for-5 from the free throw line).
News & Notes
- Indiana State in the first half shot 28% (7-for-25) from the field, 15.4% (2-for-13) from three, and 81.8% (9-for-11) from the free throw line. The Sycamores improved their shooting incredibly in the second half, shooting 59.1% (13-for-22) from the floor and 50.0% (6-for-12) from three.
- In the five-point win tonight, Indiana State attempted a season-low 47 shots from the field (20-for-47); the second lowest was 50 attempts against Drake on January 18.
- Shooting 32.0% from three-point land marks the second-best finish since Ohio State when the team shot 35.7% (Sycamores shot 37.1% at Illinois State on January 21).
- The Sycamores allowed 70 or fewer points for the fifth time this season, the third time against Division I opponents.
- The Sycamores scored 25 points in the first half, tying their lowest score in a half this season (25 vs Drake on January 18).
- Indiana State snagged 14 offensive rebounds, led by Jaden Daughtry with five and Markus Harding and Bruno Alocen, each with three apiece.
- Fourteen rebounds ties for the most this season, set against Eureka on November 7.
- Indiana State forced 17 MSU turnovers, tying for the most committed by an opponent. It’s happened on three other occasions, most recently against Drake on January 18.
- The Sycamores scored 20 points of the 17 turnovers, the third time this season reaching 20+ points off turnovers (most recently was 20 at Evansville on January 4.
- Recording 15 turnovers to MSU’s 17, it marked the fifth time this season the Sycamores had fewer turnovers than their opponent.
- Indiana State made 24-of-32 free throw attempts, marking the most made since going 30-for-36 against Bradley on January 1.
Up Next
Indiana State hits the road for a game in the Windy City, Playing UIC at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 1. The Sycamores return to Hulman Center next Wednesday, February 5 to host Valparaiso before hitting the road to Iowa to battle Drake and Northern Iowa.
