MACOMB, Ill. -- Indiana State raced out to a 13-0 halftime advantage and cashed in on a late Western Illinois special teams mistake to earn a 23-7 road victory over Western Illinois in front of 9,478 fans at Hanson Field.

The Sycamores won for the fourth time in a row to push their record out to 6-2, 4-1 MVFC while Western Illinois fell to 3-4, 1-3 MVFC. With the victory, Indiana State moved into a first place tie in the league standings with Southern Illinois, who also improved to 4-1 with their victory at Youngstown State.

ISU clinched its third consecutive winning season -- the first time it can boast that since a similar stretch from 1967-69. ISU also improved to 6-2 for the first time since 1995, which is also the only other season in which the Sycamores began league play with a 4-1 mark.

The victory also snapped a seven-game road losing streak to Western Illinois, earning their first win in Macomb since 1996. The Sycamores have now won four MVFC road games in a row for the first time in the history of the program.

Shakir Bell went over the 100 yard mark for the 17th time in his 30 game ISU career as he posted 28 rushes for 123 yards.

Indiana State drove down near the red zone to begin the third quarter, but Tanner Fritschle missed a 36-yard field goal to hold the Sycamore advantage right where it was at the half, 13-0.

The Sycamore defense was strong to begin the third quarter and forced the ninth WIU punt of the contest, but George Cheeseborough muffed the attempt at the 13-yard line and the Leathernecks pounced on the ball in the end zone to cut the ISU lead down to 13-7 with 8:07 left in the third quarter.

After the Sycamores twice drove into Western Illinois territory, Indiana State capitalized on a mistake by the Leathernecks when WIU muffed a Lucas Hileman punt at the 13-yard line and Mark Sewall pounced on the loose ball to push the ISU lead back out to 20-7 with 11:03 left in the contest.

Tanner Fritschle tacked on a 42-yard field goal with just under four minutes to go to pad the Sycamore lead at 23-7.

The first six minutes of the Sycamores' game at Western Illinois saw the two teams exchange punts before Indiana State's Larry King intercepted the first offering from WIU quarterback Wil Lunt of their second possession and returned the ball inside the five-yard line where he fumbled and the Leathernecks recovered at their own 1.

The Sycamore defense got the ball back just shy of Western Illinois territory where Mike Perish hit Demory Lawshe on a 12-yard pass and Bell rushed three more times plus a reception to Chris O'Leary moved the ball down to the WIU 14. Richie Dyer came around from his position and raced untouched into the end zone with 3:59 left in the first quarter to stake the Sycamores to a 6-0 advantage.

Indiana State maintained its defensive dominance throughout the rest of the half, including the first career inteception for redshirt freshman Connor Underwood early in the second quarter.

After Lucas Hileman pinned the Leathernecks down inside their own 6-yard line, the Sycamores yielded just five yards and following a short 35-yard punt, Indiana State took over at the WIU 46-yard line. It took just one play for the Sycamores to score as Bell broke a tackle and scampered 46 yards for the touchdown and the 13-0 advantage with 3:22 remaining in the first half.

The Sycamore defense gave up just three first downs in the opening 30 minutes and only 101 yards of total offense to the Leathernecks. Bell amassed 75 yards in the opening two quarters.

Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, October 27 when they Sycamores host South Dakota at 2:05 p.m. (ET) in a game that will be televised on ESPN 3.