Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
PEORIA, Ill. -- Indiana State saved some of its best basketball for the final five minutes and pulled away late by scoring 11 of the game's final 14 points to down Bradley inside Carver Arena by the score of 60-52.
The Sycamores improved to 15-15 and 11-7 MVC while Bradley fell to 8-23, 3-15 MVC. Indiana State and Illinois State finish the regular season tied for third place in the standings, but the Sycamores will take the No. 3 seed at the MVC Tournament based on a regular season sweep of the Redbirds.
Indiana State won for the second year in a row at Bradley -- its first back-to-back road wins over the Braves since 1992 & 1993. The Sycamores earned four MVC road wins and are now 17-0 under fifth-year head coach Greg Lansing when allowing 53 points or less.
Khristian Smith led the way with 16 points. Devonte Brown posted his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Justin Gant scored 10 points and added six rebounds.
The Sycamores owned a 45-34 edge on the glass and a 14-6 edge in second chance points. T.J. Bell hauled in a career-high nine rebounds in just 17 minutes of action off the bench. Indiana State hit just 38.9 percent of their shots (21-of-54), but the defense limited Bradley to 33.33 percent, including a mark of 3-of-15 from 3-point range.
Khristian Smith scored two of the Sycamores' first three possessions while Justin Gant took a charge and Indiana State held a 4-2 advantage less than two minutes into the game. Following a Bradley turnover, Jake Kitchell hit a jumper for the 6-2 advantage. Nate Wells scored again to draw within two points but the Sycamores scored seven in a row, including a dunk from Kitchell and a trifecta by Smith to stretch the lead out to 13-4 with 14:44 on the clock which forced the Braves to call a timeout. Bradley ended the run and a four-minute scoring drought with a Donte Thomas jumper to close the gap to seven points.
The field goal began a long 12-0 Bradley run which was snapped following an eight minute scoring drought a 3-pointer from Devonte Brown with 6:28 left in the first half to knot the game at 16. After a defensive stop, Brown grabbed a long rebound and finished in transition to reclaim a two-point advantage. The Sycamores gave up four in a row, but Brown made it seven consecutive points for him with just over four minutes remaining to knot the contest at 20.
The string was broke out of a media timeout, when Alex Etherington drained a 3-pointer from the right wing to stake the Sycamores to a 23-20 edge. A defensive stop was followed by a second-chance field goal by T.J. Bell as the the game neared the two minute mark for a five point lead. Neither team would score until Brown pulled down a long rebound with five seconds remaining and dropped in a floater as the buzzer sounded for the 27-20 Sycamore halftime lead. Brown paced Indiana State with nine first half points.
After Bradley opened the second half with a transition basket, Smith scored with 18:40 to go to restore a 29-22 lead. The Braves drew within five, but Brenton Scott hit a fast break lay-up as the clock ticked under the 17 minute mark for a seven-point cushion. With 15:25 remaining, Justin Gant hit the Sycamores' first two free throw attempts of the game for a 33-26 lead.
The Braves then came back with eight points in a row to reclaim a 34-33 lead. Following an Indiana State timeout, Gant scored at the rim as the game neared the 12 minute mark to push the Sycamores ahead by a point. After a stop, Tre' Bennett hit a baseline floater for the 37-34 lead. Indiana State's lead ballooned to 41-36 with 9:30 remaining on a second chance thunderous putback dunk by T.J. Bell.
Bradley once again got it down to a one possession game, but Brenton Scott rattled home a 3-pointer with just over eight minutes on the clock to push the lead out to 44-38. Leading 46-40, Bradley took another one-point lead with seven points in a row. Each team traded turnovers before Khristian Smith hit a 3-pointer off the feed from Brown with 5:15 remaining for a 49-47 lead.
The Braves would hit 1-of-2 free throws, but Bennett hit both of his with 4:14 remaining to stretch the lead out to 51-48. A strong defensive rebound by Bell led to Brown being fouled in transition. After the final media timeout of the game, Brown hit a free throw at the 3:28 mark for a four-point Sycamore lead.
Bradley cut the lead down to two points with a pair of free throws just after the clock reached the three minute mark. Each team turned the ball over and Gant scored in the paint inside of two minutes for a 54-50 advantage. Following a defensive stop, Scott hit a pair of free throws with 50.6 seconds remaining and Khristian Smith blocked a shot for another defensive stop. Gant then hit a pair of charity tosses with 28 seconds remaining to stretch the lead out to eight points.
Smith finished the game off with a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining for the 60-52 victory.
Indiana State has wrapped up the No. 3 seed at next week's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis. They will play No. 6 seed Loyola in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 6. Tip-off is set for 9:35 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on MVC TV as well as ESPN3.
