PEORIA, Ill. ? Indiana State began a two-game road swing on Saturday night
against Bradley, looking to even the season series with their Missouri Valley
Conference counterparts. However, 22
turnovers turned into 24 points for the Braves (12-8, 6-3 MVC) as the Sycamores
(4-16, 2-7 MVC) dropped a 68-56 decision in front of a near capacity crowd at
Carver Arena.
The
Sycamores drew first blood, as Harry Marshall nailed a three pointer to open
the game to put ISU up 3-0 early.
Bradley chipped away at the lead slowly from the free throw line, but
finally tied the score on a Sam Singh dunk at the 14:58 mark of the first half. ISU answered with a jumper from Rashad Reed
to take a 6-4 lead, but his former teammate from Vincennes University Dodie
Dunson answered with a layup on the other end to knot the score at 6-6.
After
the Braves took a one-point lead at 7-6, Jordan Printy connected from long
distance to put ISU up 9-7. However, that
lead did not last long as Eddren McCain answered with a trey of his own to give
Bradley the lead back at 10-9 with 11:53
remaining. The rollercoaster ride
continued as Aaron Carter hit a three-pointer and followed with a jumper to
give the Sycamores the lead back at 14-10 with 11:00 remaining on the clock.
Bradley
answered with a 7-0 run to re-take the lead at 17-14 after a three-pointer by
Dunson at the 7:58 mark. A jumper by Reed cut the Braves' lead to
17-16, but two free throws from Theron Wilson and one from Chris Roberts
widened the Bradley lead to four points at 20-16. That lead was quickly cut 20-19 after Marshall made a layup, was fouled and hit his free throw to
convert the traditional three-point play with 5:36 left in the half.
Bradley
held onto the lead and widened its advantage to five points at 26-21 after two free throws by Singh with 1:25 left in the half.
Printy quickly answered with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 26-24
with 47 seconds remaining. With halftime
looming, Bradley's Sam Maniscalco hit a contested three-pointer to make the
score 29-24 in favor of the Braves with 22 seconds on the clock and after a
quick shot by Reed on the other end Maniscalco nailed a three-pointer at the
buzzer to make it a 32-24 game at the intermission.
After
the break, Reed hit a three pointer and Isiah Martin answered a McCain jumper
to cut the lead to 34-29 at the 18:33
mark. However, Bradley would answer with
a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 41-29 after a layup by Dunson. ISU fought back with a jumper from Carl
Richard and a three-pointer by Jay Tunnell cut the lead to seven points at
41-34 with 14:37 remaining in the game.
That's
as close as the Sycamores would get for the rest of the game, as the Braves
controlled the game and eventually widened the lead to 63-44 with 4:26 remaining in the second half. ISU was not ready to go away, though, and
went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 63-53 with just under two minutes
remaining. Reed got the scoring started
with a three-pointer and Carter hit two jumpers during the run with a dunk by
Richard sandwiched between the two makes.
Bradley
answered with three straight points to make the score 66-53 with 33 seconds
left, before a three-pointer by Marshall cut the lead back to 10 points at
66-56. A layup by Darian Norris would
then put a cap on the scoring and secure the 68-56 win for the Braves.
Reed
led the Sycamores with 12 points and four assists on the night, while Marshall also finished in double figures with 11 points to
go along with four assists. Richard also
made his presence known on the floor, as the freshman tied his career high with
12 rebounds while chipping in seven points for the Sycamores. The double-digit rebounding effort was the
fourth for Richard in the last nine games.
Indiana State returns to action on Tuesday, when the team travels
to Omaha, Neb., to face the Creighton Bluejays (15-6, 5-4 MVC). Tip off is
set for 8:05
p.m. EST at the Qwest Center.
