DEKALB, Ill. -- Brenton Scott heated up down the stretch and hit two big 3-pointers at the end of the regulation and at the start of overtime but it wasn't to be as the Sycamores dropped a nail-biter of a season opener at Northern Illinois, 80-78 in front of 1,565 fans inside the NIU Convocation Center on Friday night.
ISU dropped its season opener to fall to 0-1 while NIU begins their campaign with a victory and are now 1-0. The Sycamores and Huskies will have a rare non-conference rematch on November 30 inside Hulman Center.
Scott led the way with 28 points plus six rebounds, four assists, one blocked shot and two steals. Matt Van Scyoc hit big shots early and finished with 14 points. Freshman Jordan Barnes was key in this contest as he made his collegiate debut and finished with 14 points, a pair of 3-pointers and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
The Sycamores were led in rebounding by senior Everett Clemons who continued his astounding work on the glass with nine rebounds to go with five points, four assists and two steals.
Indiana State shared the ball well with 14 assists on 25 made field goals and hit 10 3-pointers. Van Scyoc led the way with four connections from long range. The Sycamore defense forced 12 turnovers and converted them into nine points. ISU's bench posted 25 points in the contest.
A free throw by Dontel Highsmith with 37 seconds remaining staked NIU to a 70-63 lead. Barnes would hit a pair of free throws with 25 seconds remaining to cut their lead down to 70-65. After Jaylen Key hit a free throw at the 20 second mark for a six-point advantage, Barnes hit two more charity tosses with 13 seconds on the clock to get within 71-67.
Highsmith missed two free throws with 13 seconds left and Barnes drove down the lane to get within 71-69 with nine seconds to go. Aaric Armstead hit 1-of-2 free throws to stretch the NIU lead to 72-69 before Brenton Scott raced down the floor and tied the score with 1.6 seconds remaining on a deep 3-pointer.
The Sycamores won the tip and Scott converted another 3-pointer for the 75-72 lead in overtime. ISu led 78-75 with 3:07 to go on a charity toss by Everett Clemons. Armstead converted a dunk with 46 seconds remaining to knot the game at 78. After Barnes couldn't convert a lay-up, Laytwan Porter hit a pair of free throws with four seconds to go to put them ahead 80-78. ISU got another decent look at the overtime buzzer, but they could not find lightening a bottle again.
Van Scyoc opened the scoring with a 3-pointer less than one minute in. A TJ Bell lay-up with 15:27 on the clock gave the Sycamores a 10-9 lead, but eight points in a row by NIU gave them a 17-10 lead. The Huskies held as big as a 12-point advantage in the first half, but Van Sycoc drilled a 3-pointer out of a timeout with 42 seconds remaining to trail on 36-29 heading into the break.
It proved to be a 9-0 run over around the half as Scott hit a free throw with 18:18 to go in regulation as the Sycamores trailed 36-35. Scott scored nine points in a row for the Sycamores as they took a 41-40 lead with 13:50 on the clock. A free throw by Clemons at the 11 minute mark staked the Sycamores to a 47-42 lead -- its largest of the game.
Marin Maric led the way with 25 points for Northern Illinois while Key posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.Â
 Indiana State continues its two-game road swing to open the season when they travel to Ball State on Tuesday, November 15. The game begins at 7 p.m. (ET) and will be broadcast world-wide on ESPN3.
