Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
ST. LOUIS -- Indiana State was led by sophomore Brenton Scott with 14 points and withstood a furious late rally by Illinois State to earn a 65-57 win over the Redbirds in the quarterfinals of the 2016 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
The Sycamores improved to 15-16 overall while Illinois State fell to 18-14. Indiana State is now 8-4 in the MVC Tournament under sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing. Exactly one half of those victories for the Sycamores have come as the lower seeded team. The Sycamores are the No. 6 seed while the Redbirds were No. 3. It marked the first time Indiana State has ever won a game as the No. 6 seed in the MVC Tournament.
Indiana State is in the MVC Tournament semifinals for the third time in the last four years and it marks the fourth consecutive season that the No. 6 seed has won in the quarterfinals.
Scott led the way 14 points while Niels Bunschoten scored 11 and Matt Van Scyoc tallied 10. Everett Clemons paced the Sycamores with eight rebounds.
The Sycamores enjoyed a 28-12 edge in points in the paint. Indiana State had more free throws made (17) than field goals made (11) in the second half. The Sycamore defense was as good as it has been all year holding the Redbirds to a season-best field goal percentage defensive mark 31.3 percent.
Scott posted a career high five steals and scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half which was his 26th double-figure scoring effort of the season.
The Sycamores got on the scoreboard on their first offensive possession of the game as Devonte Brown found Brandon Murphy inside for a quick lay-up and the 2-0 lead. Niels Bunschoten then added a dunk after driving right down the paint for the four points lead. Illinois State missed each of their first seven shots before Paris Lee hit a jumper just inside the 15 minute mark.
Justin McCloud countered with a 3-pointer to sneak the Redbirds ahead for the first time, but Emondre Rickman answered with a second chance lay-up at the 13:40 mark for the 6-5 advantage. Clemons then stretched the lead out to three points with a jumper after a defensive stop. After Illinois State drew within a point, Matt Van Scyoc drilled a 3-pointer with just over 12 minutes on the clock for the 11-7 edge. Brenton Scott rattled a long distance shot home at the 10:45 mark for the 14-9 lead. The lead grew to eight points when Bunschoten hit the third trifecta of the first half for the Sycamores just under the halfway point of the opening stanza.
Brown hit a driving lay-up out of the under eight media timeout and then he got a steal and made a free throw for the 20-12 lead just under the seven minute mark. The Redbirds missed six shots in a row before Lee hit a 3-pointer with five minutes on the clock to trim the Sycamore lead down to 20-15. After a pair of Smith charity tosses, the Sycamores grabbed a long rebound and Van Scyoc converted a fast break lay-up for the 24-15 lead. Indiana State led 24-17 at the half as Van Scyoc and Bunschoten each had five points.
The Sycamores opened the second half strong as well as a 3-pointer by Scott on the first offensive possession to stretch the lead out to 27-17. Bunschoten made it five in a row out of the half with jumper in the paint and Scott got a steal and fast break lay-up for a 7-0 run and the 31-17 lead just over one minute in. Illinois State answered with three in a row before Bunschoten hit a pair to restore a 13-point advantage.
Each team traded stops before Scott got a steal and Smith laid it in as the clock ticked under the 16 minute mark for a 37-24 lead. With 15:35 remaining, Murphy was fouled and hit both free throws after a timeout as the lead swelled to 15 points. After Murphy got a steal on the defensive end, Van Scyoc rolled one home and the Sycamores led 41-24 with 15:01 to go.
Illinois State would grind their way back into the contest by scoring six of the game's next eight points to get within 43-30 with just under 12 minutes remaining. Brown hit a pair of free throws with 10:38 to go which extended the Sycamore lead out to 45-32. But Paris Lee hit a 3-pointer and then DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell hit a lay-up to cut into the lead at 45-37 with 9:48 remaining. With the shot clock winding down, Brenton Scott drained a big 3-pointer and then Smith converted a floater at the 8:47 mark to stake the Sycamores to a 50-37 lead.
The Sycamores broke a three minute scoring drought with a pair of Van Scyoc free throws with 5:32 remaining as Indiana State took a 52-39 lead. After a defensive stop, Bunschoten misfired and Scott came down with an offensive rebound, hit the lay-up and was fouled for the 54-39 lead with just under four minutes to go. Scott made it a conventional 3-point play and stretched the edge out to 16 points.
But the Redbirds got hot and scored six points in a row on consecutive possessions to trim the Sycamore lead down to 56-47 with 2:24 remaining before calling a timeout. Illinois State drew within 58-52, but Clemons answered with a lay-up in transition with 1:41 remaining to stretch the lead back out to eight points.
Van Scyoc hit one free throw with 41.5 seconds remaining and Lee answered with a pair as the Sycamore lead was down to 61-57. The Redbirds got two looks at the basket, but came up empty before Bunschoten was fouled with 17.9 seconds remaining. He hit both charity tosses to stretch the lead out to 63-57. Clemons hit a free throw and grabbed the final big offensive rebound for the 65-57 victory.
MiKyle McIntosh led the way with 17 points for the Redbirds.
Indiana State now advances to the semifinals of the 2016 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament against No. 2 seed Evansville on Saturday, March 5 at 6:00 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
