DES MOINES, Iowa – Indiana State junior forward Carl Richard posted 17 points and 11 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season as the Sycamores earned a tough 62-57 victory in front of 3,432 fans at Knapp Center.

ISU improved to 9-7, 4-1 MVC while Drake falls to 7-9, 2-3 MVC. ISU is 4-1 in the league for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign and is the Sycamores' fifth consecutive victory over Drake. The Sycamores have won back-to-back games at Drake for the first time since 1997 & 1998.

Richard went 7-of-13 from the field, including three treys to score 17 points to go with his 11 rebounds. Aaron Carter scored 11 points while Isiah Martin posted a career-high 10 points in 14 minutes of action.

With the game tied at 30, ISU scored seven points in a row to make it 37-30. ISU then had a 7-0 run with eight minutes left for a 53-44 lead.

ISU led 55-53 with the basketball as the clock ticked under two minutes to go. First-year head coach Greg Lansing called on redshirt freshman Jake Odum who connected on a long jumper to make it 57-53. Drake hit a pair of free throws, but Odum again countered with a jumper at the 1:07 mark to retake a 59-55 lead. After Drake made it 59-57, Martin hit 1-of-2 free throws for a 60-57 lead. The Sycamore defense got a stop and Steve McWhorter hit two more free throws with eight seconds left for the 62-57 road win.

Carl Richard's jumper just 13 seconds into the contest staked the Sycamores to an early 2-0 lead, which they would hold for all but four seconds of the first half when a Ryan Wedel 3-pointer just before the break knotted the contest at 24. ISU started the game on an 8-0 run which was fueled by back-to-back treys from Richard and Aaron Carter 8-0 run out of the gate.

Drake whittled the Sycamore lead back to 12-10, before Jordan Printy scored a long jumper plus a second trey from Richard at 10:59 to make it 17-10. ISU was hotter out of the gate than Drake as the Sycamores started 6-of-14 from the field while Drake began just 3-of-11.

ISU held a 20-14 having hit their first 5-of-10 from 3-point range, with Carter and Richard connecting on two each plus another from RJ Mahurin. ISU got a Carter trey at 9:05 and only a Martin putback at 6:07 plus a Richard jumper at the two minute mark as Drake eventually tied the game just before the half at 24.

Myles Walker scored inside for the Sycamores to start the second half to give the Trees a 26-24 lead but Drake tied it right back up. ISU scored again at the 16:52 mark to regain the advantage as the game continued to see-saw back and forth.

Indiana State returns to action on Wednesday, January 12 when they travel to Bradley. Tip-off is slated for 8:05 p.m. The contest will be televised live on WTWO TV 2 as well as online at GoSycamores.com. All of the action can also be heard on the airwaves via ESPN Radio 92.7 FM and 1300 AM as well as online at GoSycamores.com.