TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? Heading in with a 9-1 record at the Hulman Center this season, the numbers were on the side of Indiana State on Tuesday night in their Missouri Valley Conference match up with Bradley. The Sycamores (11-13, 6-8 MVC) stayed true to their winning ways and earned a 76-66 win over the Braves (14-12, 7-7 MVC) to improve to 10-1 at the Hulman Center this season and snap a five-game losing streak.
The two squads were knotted at 7-7 just four minutes into the game, after Jay Tunnell connected on a jumper to tie the game for the third time. After a Gabe Moore jumper and a layup by Isiah Martin, the Sycamores jumped out to an 11-7 lead and later led by four points at 13-9 after a jumper by Cole Holmstrom. The Braves would fight right back, though, and scored the next five points to take a 14-13 lead with 11:19 left on the clock.
The back-and-forth basketball continued, as the teams traded the lead six times before the Sycamores eventually held on to the lead to close the half. Tunnell's jumper with 1:05 left in the half knotted the score at 31-31 before two free throws by Moore gave ISU a two-point lead at 33-31 with 46 seconds remaining. Bradley got a free throw from Daniel Ruffin with 31 seconds left in the half to make the score 33-32, which was the score the teams took to the locker room at halftime. In all, there were seven ties and nine lead changes in the first half of play.
Indiana State controlled the tempo to start the second half, as the team jumped out to a seven-point lead at 43-36 five minutes in. Bradley answered with the next four points to cut the ISU lead to three before two free throws by Aaron Carter gave the Sycamores a 45-40 lead. The ISU lead would later get cut to one at 47-46 after Ruffin connected from the free throw line with 10:25 left on scoreboard.
That would be the last point for the Braves over the next two and a half minutes, as ISU went on a 10-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 57-46. Martin kick-started the barrage with a jumper in the paint and Marico Stinson added two free throws to put the Sycamores up by five points. Following a three-pointer by Moore, Stinson came right back down the floor and connected on a fast-break three-pointer from Harry Marshall to force a Bradley time out.
After the time out, Ruffin hit a big three pointer for to cut the ISU lead to eight at 57-49, but another three by Stinson once again gave the Sycamores an 11-point advantage at 60-49. Bradley did not go away, as the Braves chipped away at the lead and eventually cut it to three at 63-58 after two free throws from Ruffin with 2:58 left in the game.
From there, Moore took over for ISU and scored two buckets to put the Sycamores up 66-60 with 1:14 remaining. Adam Arnold then sunk two free throws for ISU to widen the lead to eight, before Ruffin added two more free throws to bring the lead back down to six points at 68-62. Arnold then added two more free throws to once again put ISU up by eight points and Moore hit six-straight free throws over the last 42 seconds to secure the 76-66 win.
Moore led the way with a season-high 27 points, including a perfect 14-for-14 effort from the charity stripe. Stinson added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Sycamores and Martin had an all-around solid game with 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Andrew Warren led the way for Bradley with 17 points, while Ruffin added 16 points in the loss.
The Sycamores continue their three-game home stand on Saturday, February 16, when they face off against the second-place Illinois State Redbirds. Tip off is set for 2:05 p.m. EST at the Hulman Center.
