Ashley Dickerson
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State Sycamores continued their 2015-16 campaign with a 69-63 loss against in-state rival, Valparaiso. Junior Matt Van Scyoc led the Sycamores' scoring efforts, sinking five of eight shots from behind the three-point line and scoring 20 points on the night. Sophomore Brenton Scott also scored double figures for the Sycamores, putting up 16 from the bench. This was the 80th meeting between the two teams, and the first since December of 2004.
After two and a half minutes of play, the Sycamores got on the board as sophomore Brandon Murphy drew a foul and capitalized on two buckets. Both Scott and Van Scyoc added two three-point buckets to cut the Crusaders' lead down to two. The Sycamores then put the fans on their feet with back-to-back lay-ups from Scott and junior Niels Bunschoten, putting the Sycamores ahead for the first time since tip-off.
The Crusaders took back their lead with a few fastbreak drives, but the Sycamores continued the defense while forcing the Crusaders to commit seven first-half turnovers. Despite defensive efforts, the Sycamores struggled to capitalize on offensive opportunities, shooting only 19 percent in the first half. The Sycamores' bench came to play, adding 11 of the team's 21 first-half points.
Just before the half, senior Khristian Smith was fouled just shy of the three-point line and knocked down one of the freebies from behind the charity stripe. Scott led the Sycamores in first-half scoring with five points, while senior Devonte Brown pulled down five boards. For the Crusaders, junior Alec Peters led the team with 11 first-half points. The Sycamores trailed the Crusaders 21-31 at halftime.
After the half, the Sycamore shooters fired up, as Murphy and Brown both knocked down shots, while Bunschoten and Van Scyoc sunk three-pointers to cut the Crusaders' lead to four. The Sycamore fans exploded once again after a Crusader turnover led to a successful Emondre Rickman dunk and another three-point bucket from Van Scyoc. At the twelve-minute mark, the Sycamores were out-scoring the Crusaders 21-10.
After tying things up with big offensive efforts, though, ISU couldn't keep Valparaiso off the line, and the Crusaders couldn't miss. The Sycamores trailed by eight as they called a timeout to regroup with four and a half minutes left to play. The Crusaders continued to the basket as the Sycamores were forced to foul in the final seconds of the game. Despite aggressive second-half efforts, the Sycamores fell short of the win.
The Sycamores finished the night shooting 35 percent from the floor and 63 percent from the free throw line. The Sycamore bench contributed 27 of the team's 63 points, with Scott owning 16 of those points. Van Scyoc led the team with 20 points and Brown led the team in rebounds with eight.
The Sycamores fall to 3-5 on the season and will return to action on December 13th as they travel to Western Kentucky to face the Big Red.
