TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State continued a strong trend of success when posting great defensive numbers and TJ Bell eclipsed his career high in points scored for the third time in the last four games as the Sycamores returned home and earned a 63-52 victory over visiting Northern Illinois in front of 3,730 fans inside Hulman Center on Wednesday night.
Indiana State improved to 3-4 while Northern Illinois fell to 4-4. It was a rare non-conference same season home-and-home between the two programs as the Sycamores won this matchup after falling narrowly in overtime in the season opener. It was the first game this season against a Division I opponent which wasn't decided by one possession or reach overtime. Indiana State improved to 7-3 all-time against Northern Illinois in Terre Haute, but was the first win over the Huskies at home since 2007.
TJ Bell continued his strong play as he scored a new career-high with 17 points as he hit 8-of-11 shots from the field and added a free throw. He also tallied four rebounds in the winning effort. Brenton Scott chipped in 14 points and posted six rebounds with two assists and two steals while Everett Clemons was efficient by scoring 12 points as he hit 6-of-7 shots from the field to go with six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Sycamore defense was consistent as they allowed just 26 points in both halves to the Huskies. ISU improved to a perfect 18-0 under seventh-year head coach Greg Lansing when holding teams to 53 points or less as well as 76-9 over that same span when allowing 63 points or less. Indiana State limited NIU to just 18-of-52 (34.6 percent) from the field, including only 29.6 percent (8-of-27) after halftime. Indiana State forced 21 Northern Illinois turnovers and converted them into 17 points. ISU held a 38-24 edge in the paint.
After Northern Illinois scored just over a minute into the game, Scott tied the game with a jumper at the 18:33 mark. Leading 7-6, the Sycamores embarked on a strong defensive stretch as they held Northern Illinois without a point for nearly seven minutes and without a field goal for just over eight minutes. ISU made it a prolonged 7-0 run which began with a Scott 3-pointer and ended on a conventional 3-point play from Bell as well as another charity toss from Matt Van Scyoc as they led 14-6 with 7:52 to go before the half.
Northern Illinois responded with a 12-0 run to take an 18-14 lead on a pair of free throws from Aaric Armstead with 4:13 on the clock. A dunk from Bronson Kessinger and a lay-up by Donovan Franklin knotted the game at the 3:06 mark at 18. Emondre Rickman would score inside for the 22-20 lead and Clemons had a tip-in with 51 seconds remaining for the 24-22 lead. Two buckets by Northern Illinois in the final 30 seconds gave them a 26-24 lead at the half. Scott led the way with 10 points at the break.
Van Scyoc drained an open 3-pointer less than one minute elapsed in the second half to regain the 27-26 lead. That started a 7-0 run which ended on a steal and fast break lay-up from Clemons for the 31-26 lead at the 17:41 mark and forced Northern Illinois to burn a timeout. Noah McCarty to NIU within a point at 35-34, but ISU rattled off 10 points in a row as a 3-pointer from freshman Jordan Barnes gave the Sycamores a 45-34 lead with 10:12 to go.
The lead reached a high water mark of 13 on a lay-up by Clemons with 6:34 to go and NIU would only get as close as 57-51 with just over two minutes remaining. The Sycamores hit free throws and used a lay-up by Laquarious Paige for the 63-51 lead with 1:14 remaining. Finally after playing five of their first six games down to the wire on the last possession or in overtime, Clemons was able to dribble the ball to run out the clock in regulation.
Northern Illinois was led by 14 points from Justin Thomas off the bench.
Indiana State now travels out West to visit Utah State in the annual Missouri Valley/Mountain West Conference Challenge on Saturday, December 3. Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. (ET) and will be streamed online by the Mountain West Conference Network.
