OXFORD, Ohio ? The road has not been kind to the Indiana State this season and Tuesday night's game at Miami (Ohio) was no different. The Sycamores (3-4) pulled out to an early lead in the game, but could not sustain the momentum and the RedHawks (4-3) earned a 74-58 victory in front of their home fans at Millett Hall.
Indiana State jumped out to an early lead, thanks to a strong performance from Marico Stinson. Stinson scored the first six points of the game for the Sycamores to give his team an early 6-2 lead. After Gabe Moore converted on a three-point play to make the score 9-2, the RedHawks answered on a Michael Bramos layup to cut the lead to 9-4. However, Stinson continued his hot shooting in the half and connected on a three-pointer to put ISU up 12-4 with 15:25 left in the half.
After widening its lead to 10 points at 14-4 on a layup by Adam Arnold, ISU began to struggle and the RedHawks went on a 16-3 run to take their first lead of the game at 20-17 with 9:25 left on the clock. A layup by freshman Aaron Carter quickly cut the lead to one point, but the RedHawks put together a 12-0 run to widen their lead to 32-19 on a Carl Richburg layup with 5:56 left in the half. A jumper by Jay Tunnel and a three-pointer by Harry Marshall helped the Sycamores get a bit closer, but Miami (Ohio) held on to lead by 10 points at 34-24 at the half.
The RedHawks maintained their lead coming out of the locker room and led by 14 points at 41-27 at the 15:53 mark. But, the Sycamores mounted a comeback and went on an 11-3 run to cut the lead to six at 44-38 with 12:01 left in the game. Back-to-back jumpers by Jay Tunnel got the run started for the Sycamores and Todd McCoy followed with five-straight points to cut into the Miami (Ohio) lead.
Two free throws from Moore kept the Sycamores within six points at 46-40 with 9:35 left on the clock, but the RedHawks broke out from there and went on a 15-3 run to balloon the lead to 61-43 with 5:20 left in the game. Later in the half, two more free throws from Moore after a technical foul on the Miami (Ohio) bench cut the lead to 12 points and 70-58, but that would be as close as they would get as the RedHawks held on for the 74-58 win.
Moore led the way for the Sycamores with 17 points, four assists and two steals in the loss. Stinson finished the game with nine points, all of which were in the first half, and McCoy added nine points in the second half to round out the scoring for ISU. Bramos led the way for the RedHawks with 17 points and was joined in double figures by Tim Pollitz (12), Tyler Dierkers (14) and Carl Richburg (13).
The Sycamores return to action on Saturday, December 8, against Ball State at the Hulman Center. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
