TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? For the first time since the 2006-07 season, Indiana State (9-19, 6-10 MVC) won its fifth straight basketball game after defeating the Toledo Rockets (5-22, 3-9 MAC) by a final of 69-62 in an ESPNU BracketBusters series contest at Hulman Center.  Indiana State improves to 3-2 all-time in the BracketBusters with the win, their second straight in the annual series.

Although Toledo scored the first bucket of the game, Indiana State led 10-6 after the first five minutes of action.  Reed connected on his first two shot attempts of the afternoon to score the first four Sycamore points.  Jay Tunnell, Harry Marshall, and Jordan Printy also got in on the scoring action with jumpers of their own.  Printy later put the Sycamores up 13-6 when he knocked down his first three pointer of the game to increase Indiana State's lead to seven with 13:58 on the clock.

Toledo climbed back to within three at 13-10 by scoring the next two baskets.  After an exchange of free-throws by both teams, Reed continued to pace the Sycamores by hitting a three pointer near the top of the key that put the home squad up 17-11 with under ten minutes to play in the first half.

Justin Anyijong quickly brought his Rockets within one by scoring five consecutive points to make the score 17-16 in favor of the Sycamores with 8:33 to go.  After being fouled on a short jumper, Tunnell went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe and a Brant Leitnaker block on the other end led to a Marshall fast-break layup that gave Indiana State a 21-16 advantage.  Leitnaker followed with two free-throws to make it a 23-16 ballgame with about six minutes to go in the first period.

A long two-pointer by Reed gave the Sycamores a nine-point lead at 25-16 with 2:35 remaining before halftime.  Toledo's Clayton Sterling converted a drive to the basket and was fouled at the same time, but could not finish the three-point play to keep it a 25-20 lead for ISU.  After Tunnell took his second charge of the game, he connected on a jumper and knocked down his free-throw to convert the three-point play and make it a 28-24 ballgame with under a minute to go.  Marshall added two more free-throws to increase the Sycamore lead to six with just 30 ticks to go.

After two free throws from Marshall made the score 30-24, Jonathan Amos had a chance to cut the lead to two points but missed the front end of a bonus situation that ultimately led to a Keenan Barlow layup on the other end which made it a 32-24 Sycamore ballgame at the break.

The second half started with Carl Richard making two free throws and Amos converted a layup for the Rockets to make the score 34-26 just a minute into the second half.  Printy then made it a 11-point game when he knocked down his second three pointer of the afternoon and later widened the lead to 13 after hitting his second straight trey to make the score 40-27 with about 16 minutes remaining in the game.  Following a jumper by Tyrone Kent that cut the lead to 11, Reed nailed a three pointer to extend the lead to 14 points at 43-29 with 15:02 remaining on the clock.

The Rockets cut the lead down to seven at 47-40 when Tyrone Kent converted a three-point play and Amos hit a free-throw with 11 minutes to play. After Reed hit two free throws to make the score 49-40, Kent answered with another jumper to cut the lead to seven points.  From there, Tunnell hit a pair of free throws and then made his first three-point basket of the game to make the score 54-44 in favor of the Sycamores with about nine minutes remaining. 

With 6:41 to go, the Rockets fought back to within seven at 55-48 after a pair of free throws by Kent.  However, Marshall answered for ISU as he dribbled the length of the floor and converted the three-point play after he was fouled on his layup attempt to make it 58-48. 

Both teams continued to exchange baskets and with 1:50 to go in the game as the Sycamores led 67-60.  Ten seconds later, Marshall found himself at the line and made it a nine-point game at 69-60 after sinking two free throws.  Clayton Sterling added two free throws with 28 seconds left to cut the lead to seven, but that's as close as Toledo would get as the Sycamores came away with the 69-62 victory

Tunnell led all scorers with 17 points and seven rebounds, which included a 7-for-7 performance from the free-throw line.  Marshall added 16 points and five assists, which also included a strong 6-for-8 effort from the charity stripe.  Reed and Printy chipped in with 15 and 13 points, respectively, to mark the fourth straight game in which the quartet of Tunnell, Printy, Marshall and Reed finished in double figures for the Sycamores.

Indiana State has two more conference games left on the schedule before tournament play begins on March 5, 2009.  The Sycamores will travel to Wichita State on Tuesday, February 24, for an 8:05 p.m. tipoff against the Shockers before rounding out the regular season at home on February 28 against Missouri State on Senior Day.