Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
NORMAL, Ill. -- Indiana State used a turnaround jumper by Khristian Smith with 5.8 seconds remaining to earn a thrilling 63-61 victory over Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams.
The Sycamores improved to 5-8, 1-0 MVC while Illinois State fell to 8-5, 0-1 MVC. It gave the Sycamores a win in their MVC opener for the fourth consecutive season. Indiana State improved to 57-5 under fifth-year head coach Greg Lansing when holding a team to 63 points or less.
Tre' Bennett paced the Sycamores with 15 points off the bench, including a pair of 3-pointers to get Indiana State going late in the first half. Justin Gant scored 10 points, including a big 3-pointer with game tied and just over a minute remaining. Jake Kitchell came off the bench to score eight points and pull down eight rebounds.
Leading by one point, Bennett extended the Sycamore advantage to 42-39 with a driving layup as the clock ticked towards 10 minutes remaining. After a long defensive rebound, Bennett dribbled the ball in transition and pulled up to drain a long 3-pointer at the 9:30 mark to stretch the lead out to 45-39 and Illinois State burned their third timeout in the second half. Kitchell then answered a Reggie Lynch free throw with a conventional 3-point play at the 8:50 mark and Indiana State owned a 48-40 cushion.
The Sycamores continued to push ahead with another defensive stop and Gant buried a 3-pointer from the corner near the end of the shot clock for a 51-40 advantage as time neared eight minutes remaining.The Redbirds hit a pair of free throws and then a turnover against the press led to an easy bucket to get Illinois State back within 51-44. Two free throws from Khristian Smith stemmed the tide after a timeout to extend back to a 53-44 cushion.
A conventional 3-point play was part of six points in a row for the Redbirds to cut the Indiana State lead down to 53-50 with six minutes to go. Brown found the bottom of the basket on a driving layup with just over four minutes to remaining to stretch the cushion out to 55-50. After a bucket by the Redbirds, Etherington made it a two-possession game with 3:30 remaining with a free throw for the 56-52 advantage. Illinois State scored four points in a row to knot the contest at 56 with 2:32 on the clock.
Gant hit a 3-pointer out of a Sycamore timeout with over a minute remaining but the Redbirds tied it up with a trifecta of their own. Bennett was fouled going to the line with 54 seconds left and hit both free throws for the 61-59 lead. Tony Wells knotted the game at 61 for the Redbirds with 40 seconds on the clock. The Sycamores called a timeout and worked the clock until Khristian Smith got loose for a jumper in the paint which he nailed for a 63-61 lead with 5.8 seconds left.
Illinois State and Indiana State traded timeouts, which resulted in a missed lay-up for the Redbirds and the Sycamores' first win in a Valley opener on the road since 2008. The win also keeps alive a streak of four consecutive victories in MVC openers.
Justin Gant opened the scoring for the Sycamores with just over two minutes elapsed off a nice pass in the paint from T.J. Bell for an early 2-1 lead. Five points in a row pushed the Redbirds ahead before a Kitchell free throw and then a Tre' Bennett 3-pointer at the 12:50 mark leveled the score at six.
The Sycamores would be held scoreless until the 6:12 mark while the Redbirds scored the next 12 points. Bennett's second 3-pointer of the game ended the drought and drew ISU within 18-9. Brenton Scott's 3-pointer as the clock ticked under five minutes on the clock drew Indiana State within six points of the Redbirds.
The Sycamore run extended to eight points in a row on a pair of free throws by Jake Kitchell as the Indiana State defense continued to hold the Redbirds at bay. After another defensive stop, an offensive putback from Kitchell with 3:09 to go made it a 10-0 run and ISU was down just 18-16.
After Illinois State was able to extend its lead back to four, Bennett was fouled at the top of the key and hit both free throws in the bonus to cut the deficit to 22-20 at the 1:36 mark. Brenton Scott's 3-pointer in transition with 44 seconds remaining answered a McCloud trifecta to get the Sycamores within 25-23. Illinois State ran out time on the shot clock with three seconds left in the half, before Scott's halfcourt heave was short. Bennett paced the Sycamores with eight points in the first half.
Khristian Smith answered a conventional 3-point play by the Redbirds to open the second half and the Redbirds owned a 28-25 advantage with just over 19 minutes to play. After the Redbirds got an inside bucket, a steal and tranistion 3-pointer from Etherington at the 17:35 mark made it a 30-28 score.
After Illinois State went ahead 32-28, the Sycamores got a pair of free throws by Smith and then Scott drained a 3-pointer as Indiana State took a 33-32 lead with just over 16 minutes to go. In between the two scores, Kitchell took a charge to get a needed defensive stop. The Redbirds used a pair of free throws to take the lead before Bell scored in the paint and then Devonte Brown went coast to coast to push the advantage out to 37-34 with 15:09 on the clock and forced the Redbirds to call a timeout.
The Redbirds went 1-of-2 from the free throw line on their next possession, but Gant answered with an inside lay-up for the 39-35 Sycamore lead. Illinois State would score the next four points to knot the contest, but Brown hit 1-of-2 free throws with 12:19 remaining to push the Sycamores back ahead at 40-39.
Indiana State returns to action on Sunday, January 4 when they take on Evansville at 1:30 p.m. (ET) inside Hulman Center.
