TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? Heading into today's men's basketball game with IPFW, the series record was tied 1-1 with each team winning on the other team's home court. However, Indiana State (3-2) bucked the trend and defended its home court with a close 63-55 win over IPFW (1-3) in front of 3079 fans at Hulman Center. The win was the second-straight at home for the Sycamores and upped their season mark at home to 3-0.
IPFW was the aggressor early, as the Mastodons jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on a dunk by Jaraun Burrows. The lead eventually grew to 11-5 in favor of IPFW, before the Sycamores rattled off six straight points to tie the lead at 11-11, thanks to a jumper from Harry Marshall. IPFW got the lead back quickly and eventually extended it to six points at 19-13 at the 8:39 mark in the first half.
However, the Sycamores exploded for a 16-0 run, capped off by a free throw from Isiah Martin to take a 29-19 advantage with just 3:16 left on the clock. Three free throws from the Mastodons cut the lead to single digits at seven at 29-22, but ISU's Gabe Moore connected on a jumper with 2:11 left on the clock to give the Sycamores a 31-22 advantage heading into the locker room at halftime.
ISU came out of the locker room shooting well, as the Sycamores went on a 16-7 run to start the half and eventually widened the lead to 18 points at 47-29 with 12:42 left in the game. However, that lead would not be safe enough for the Sycamores, as the Mastodons rallied back with a 20-3 run to cut the ISU lead to one point at 50-49 on a dunk by DeWitt Schott with 3:33 left in the game.
IPFW then took the lead at 51-50 on two free throws by Demetrius Johnson. ISU came right back and retook the lead at 52-51 on two free throws by Adam Arnold with 2:54 left on the clock and went on a 7-0 run to widen the lead to eight points at 59-51 on a free throw by Moore. After a jumper by IPFW's Ben Botts cut the lead to six at 59-53 with just under a minute to play, the Sycamores held on and hit four free throws down the stretch to secure the 63-55 victory.
Arnold led the way for ISU with 12 points and five rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Moore (11), Cole Holmstrom (10) and Martin (10) in the victory. IFPW was led by Botts with 13 points.
The Sycamores return to action next Saturday, December 1, against in-state rival and Big Ten opponent Purdue. Game time is set for 3 p.m. at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
