TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? Two notable firsts occurred in Wednesday's Missouri Valley Conference matchup between Indiana State (6-19, 4-10 MVC) and Drake (15-11, 6-8 MVC).  First, the Sycamores won back-to-back games for the first time this season after defeating the Bulldogs 69-57 on Nellie & John Wooden Court at Hulman Center.  Second, senior Jay Tunnell scored 20+ points in consecutive games for the first time in his career.

Drake junior Josh Young got the scoring started on a quick jumper, but freshman Jordan Printy answered with a three pointer to give the Sycamores a 3-2.  Young came right back with a triple to give the Bulldogs a 5-3 lead, but Tunnell came right back and hit a three pointer to give ISU a 6-5 lead.

Tunnell, who was honored before tonight's game for surpassing the 1,000-point mark at Illinois State this past Sunday, made the next two Sycamore buckets in the paint to tie the game at 10-10 with 15:48 showing on the clock.

Indiana State took a 12-10 lead out of a media timeout when Josh Crawford hit his first jump shot of the night.  Drake regained the lead shortly after when Josh Parker nailed a three pointer twenty seconds later.  He was matched by sophomore Aaron Carter, who came off the Sycamore bench and drained a three pointer of his own to put his team up by two at 15-13 with 13:40 to go in the first half.

Drake scored the next six points to take its largest lead of the game and held a four-point advantage with about ten minutes to go at 19-15.  However, Indiana State had an answer as the Sycamores scored the next seven points to regain the lead at 22-19 with 8:40 remaining.  That seven-point run was highlighted by a Harry Marshall drive to the basket in which he sank his finger-roll layup and connected on the free throw after he was fouled by Drake's Adam Templeton.

The Sycamores held the lead and were up by as much as five points at the 6:16 mark.  However, Drake answered with a run until as Bill Eaddy made his second three-pointer of the game to put Drake up by two at 29-27.  Rashad Reed and Marshall hit back-to-back Sycamore baskets to put ISU back up by two points, but a Drake layup by Alex White tied the ballgame for the fifth time at 31-31 as the teams headed into the locker room at halftime.

Marshall converted a layup to begin the second half and led Indiana State on a 7-4 run that would put the team up 38-35 at the 17:30 mark.  Young then made 1-of-2 free-throws due to the technical foul called on Marshall to make it a 38-36 ballgame in favor of the Sycamores at the 16:34 mark.  On Drake's next two possessions, Crawford was whistled for two consecutive fouls on Cox drives to the basket.  Cox made all four free-throws to put the Bulldogs up by two at 40-38 with just under fifteen minutes to play.

Marshall put ISU back up by one on the Sycamores' next possession when he converted a traditional three-point play after he was fouled on his way to the basket for a layup.  After Parker knocked down a single free-throw, the game was tied at 41-41 with 14 minutes to go.  Parker then made back-to-back layups for Drake, but a Tunnell jumper and a Reed three-pointer kept the Sycamores in the lead at 46-45 with 12:22 remaining in the game.

Tunnell knocked down two consecutive three-pointers and Printy converted drained another trey the next time down the court to give Indiana State a 55-49 advantage with eight-and-a-half minutes to play.  That lead was cut to three points just a minute later, but Printy made another three-pointer and Carl Richard sunk a charity toss to make it a 59-53 ballgame with just over six minutes to play in favor of the Sycamores.

The Sycamores later went up by ten at 63-53 at the 4:44 mark after Tunnell buried his fifth trey of the game. Tunnell continued to control the game, as he threw down a monstrous two-handed dunk to put the Sycamores up by 12 points at 65-53.  ISU would later extend the lead to 69-55 after two free throws from Printy and went on to defeat the Bulldogs by a final score of 69-57. 

Tunnell led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 5-for-6 effort from three-point range.  In his last two games, Tunnell has combined for 53 points on 19-of-23 shooting from the field and has nailed 13-of 15 three-pointers.  Also figuring in double figures were Reed and Printy, who tallied 15 and 11 respectively.  Marshall rounded out the balanced scoring effort by scoring ten points while adding six assists and four rebounds. 

The Sycamores return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Springfield, Mo., for a match up with the Missouri State Bears.  Tip off is set for 8:05 p.m. EST at the new JQH Arena.