Ace Hunt

GoSycamores.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State used a heavy dose of Brenton Scott early and then rode senior Devonte Brown down the stretch as they hit 14 3-pointers en route to an 82-65 victory over Evansville in front of 4,630 fans inside Hulman Center.

The Sycamores won for the fifth consecutive time over Evansville inside Hulman Center to improve to 11-9, 5-3 MVC while Evansville saw a four-game winning streak end as they fell to 17-4, 6-2 MVC. Indiana State is now 47-31 in "bounce-back" games after a loss under sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing. 

Scott was on fire early as he hit his four 3-point attempts including on the opening possession as he scored 17 first half points and finished with 24. He finished 9-of-14 from the field and was 6-of-9 from long distance. Brown tied Scott for high scoring honors as he also finished with 24 points while adding six assists and five rebounds. Brown and Scott ranked second and fourth in scoring during conference games and went over 20 points together for the first time since a late 2015 win at Saint Louis earlier this season. The Sycamores owned a 37-29 edge on the glass as Everett Clemons once again led the way with seven rebounds. Clemons added a career-high nine points in the win.

Brown's 24 points give him 999 for his career and his next Sycamore point will make him the 37th member of the Indiana State Basketball 1,000 Point Club. Khristian Smith joined the elite group earlier this year and needs only 10 more to become the 17th Sycamore to record at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

Indiana State was 27-of-57 from the field (47.4 percent) and finished the game with 14 3-pointers as they hit 60.9 percent from long distance. The 14 3-pointers are the most since a 2010 game at Missouri State. 

Scott's 3-pointer on the first Sycamore possession ignited an 8-0 run which included a Murphy lay-up and another Scott trifecta at the 17:38 mark which forced Evansville to call their first timeout. Evansville cut the lead in half, but Scott drove to the basket for a lay-up and then hit another 3-pointer with 15:59 on the clock for a 13-4 advantage. Egidius Mockevicius hit a free throw and Scott came back with his fourth 3-pointer for the 16-5 lead.

Evansville would claw their way back to down just five points until Scott hit from long distance again with 9:57 on the clock and the Sycamore lead grew back to 21-13. A 5-0 Evansville run was answered by a pair of Brown free throws with 5:48 to go for a 27-23 margin. Blake Simmons converted from 3-point range to draw the Aces within a point before Khristian Smith connected on a triple at the 5:08 mark for a 30-26 lead. Adam Wing's 3-pointer was answered by a driving lay-up from Brandon Burnett to start a 9-0 Sycamore run which ended on a Brown jumper with 1:33 remaining for the 39-29 lead. 

Brown hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute as the Sycamores took a 45-31 lead into the locker room. Scott led the way with 17 points while Brown added 13 in the opening stanza.

Evansville would score the first five points of the second half to get within nine points and the Sycamores called a timeout. Brown drove in for a lay-up with 17:15 remaining for a 47-36 lead. Mockevicius scored inside, but Van Scyoc countered with a 3-pointer and the lead grew to 12 points. Jaylon Brown tallied a lay-up, but Bunschoten came right back with a 3-pointer and Indiana State led 53-40 with 14:42 on the clock.

A jumper inside the arch from Scott put the Sycamore lead at 57-41 with 12:07 remaining and Evansville seven in a row to draw the cushion down to nine points. Khristian Smith and Brown hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to restore a 63-48 lead with just over nine minutes remaining. Burnett hit another trifecta with five minutes to go as the lead swelled to 71-55. 

Matt Van Scyoc converted a tip-in at the basket with 1:13 to go which ended the Sycamore scoring and provided the largest lead of the game at 82-63. Evansville scored with 34 seconds remaining and the Sycamores ran out the clock on an 82-65 victory.

Evansville's D.J. Balentine was one of four Purple Aces to reach double figures scoring as he led the way with 20 points.

The Sycamores stay at home on Wednesday, January 27 when they host Missouri State inside Hulman Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET).