TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Indiana State Sycamores got back on the winning track, thanks to a 17-point outburst from senior Carl Richard as well as a renewed defensive presence to earn a 59-54 victory over Northern Iowa in front of 4,933 fans inside Hulman Center.

ISU ends a four-game skid with the victory to improve to 12-9, 3-7 MVC while the Panthers dropped to 14-8, 4-6 MVC.

Richard finished the game with 17 points and three rebounds as he went 7-of-12 from the field, including a blazing 3-of-4 from 3-point range in 33 minutes of action. No other Sycamore reached double figures scoring, but eight of the nine players to see action in the game scored.

Dwayne Lathan added nine points of the bench while Jake Odum tallied eight points, seven rebounds and five assists with a pair of steals. Myles Walker also had seven rebounds to go with seven points.

While the Sycamores hit 23-of-49 shots from the field (46.9 percent), including a mark of 8-of-16 from 3-point range (50 percent), the story of the game for ISU was a renewed sense of urgency on the defensive end.

The Sycamores led the MVC in field goal percentage defense one year ago en route to the State Farm MVC Tournament Championship and got back to that form by limiting Northern Iowa to just 18-of-50 (36.0 percent) in the game. UNI hit just 6-of-21 shots from 3-point range (28.6 percent).

Indiana State is 8-1 this season when holding a team to a field goal percentage of less than 42.1 percent. ISU owned a 33-28 advantage in rebounding, and are now 7-0 when limiting a team to 30 rebounds or less.

It marked the first time since the Louisiana-Monroe game on December 21 that the Sycamores held an opponent under Greg Lansing's magic number of 63, which the Sycamores are now 23-0 when accomplishing that feat over the last two years, including a mark of 8-0 this season.

Likewise, ISU improved to 9-2 this season when Walker grabs at least five rebounds and are 9-3 when Odum plays at least 32 minutes.

The Sycamores are now 18-5 under coach Lansing inside Hulman Center, including a mark of 10-4 in league contests.

Richard was hot from the outset as he hit a 3-pointer just 19 seconds into the game to give the Sycamores a quick 3-0 advantage. Odum drilled an open look at a trey at the 14:15 mark to stretch the lead out to 10-5, with Richard and Lucas Eitel each hitting treys on back-to-back possessions around a Matt Morrison lay-up for UNI as ISU led 16-7 with 12:40 remaining in the first half.

The Sycamore lead grew to as many as 14 points three times in the first half, including at the 3:59 mark on a conventional 3-point play by Steve McWhorter. Jake Kitchell hit a jumper with 3:15 left to answer a Seth Tuttle bucket as ISU led 29-15.

Johnny Moran hit a 3-pointer for Northern Iowa with just under one minute to go to cut the Sycamore lead down to 31-24, before Lathan hit a dunk 13 seconds later to stretch the cushion back out to 33-24. Tuttle was able to convert a pair of free throws with 3 seconds on the clock to make it 33-26 heading into the break after Odum's last second half court heave fell just short.

UNI battled back early in the second half, with a quick 4-0 run to cut the Sycamore lead down to 36-32 on a bucket by Moran. After Richard answered with a jumper, Morrison struck right back with a basket of his own as ISU clung to a 38-34 advantage with 14:35 remaining in the game.

Steve McWhorter stepped up and hit a big 3-pointer at the 13:27 mark to make it 41-34 to extend the lead back out to seven points.

Jordan Printy and Carl Richard hit 3-pointers around a trey by Matt Morrison to take a 49-39 lead with just over nine minutes to go. UNI then went on a 7-0 run to make it a 49-46 game with 6:34 to go.

ISU got buckets from Walker and Lathan around the five minute mark to stretch the lead out to 53-46 and Eitel drained his second 3-pointer of the game with 4:23 on the clock to give the Sycamores a 10-point lead again.

UNI came right back with a 6-0 spurt to trim the Sycamore lead down to 56-52, including a 4-point play by Marc Sonnen. UNI got off a pair of shots with a minute and a half left but failed to score and finally the Sycamores got the ball back following a Sonnen turnover.

The Sycamores spread the floor, used all of the shot clock and Odum knocked a 15-foot jumper with 47 seconds left to give ISU a 58-52 lead.

Chip Rank hit a pair of free throws for UNI with 18 seconds to go and Lathan was quickly fouled less than a second later. He would hit 1-of-2 free throws to give ISU a 59-54 advantage. in the final 10 seconds, a pair of Panther 3-pointers would not fall as the Sycamores walked away with the victory.

Tuttle led UNI with 22 points and six rebounds while Moran tallied 11.

Indiana State hits the road in Missouri Valley Conference play on Sunday, January 29 when they travel to Evansville for their first trip ever to brand new Ford Center. Tip-off is set for 8:05 p.m. (ET) in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPNU.