NORMAL, Ill. -- The Sycamores emptied the tank against the league-leading Illinois State Redbirds, but needed just one more play down the stretch as they fell 71-66 in front of 5,738 fans inside Redbird Arena.

The Sycamores fell to 7-14, 1-8 MVC against the league's toughest schedule to date while Illinois State improved to 17-4, 9-0 MVC.

Brenton Scott led the way with 15 points while TJ Bell had a big second half and scored 12 points. Matt Van Scyoc tallied 10 points in the game and hit a trio of 3-pointers. Everett Clemons enjoyed another solid all-around game with nine points, eight rebounds and six assists.

The Sycamores enjoyed a 12-11 edge in points of turnovers as well as a 14-5 advantage in fast break points. Indiana State used six offensive rebounds to tallied 10 second chance points.

A pair of Deonte Hawkins free throws with 3:46 on the clock staked the Redbirds a 60-57 lead. Scott was fouled off the ball and hit a pair from the line to get within 60-59. Indiana State got a coveted defensive stop and Bell was fouled going to the basket with 2:51 remaining. He went to the line where he hit both and the Sycamores regained a 61-60 advantage. Paris Lee continued the parade to the charity stripe and hit both before Bell converted a sweet reverse lay-up for the 63-62 lead with just over two minutes to go. Despite a Scott blocked shot, the Redbirds scored inside and took a three point lead. Jordan Barnes countered with a wide open corner three with less than a minute remaining to knot the contest at 66.

The Redbirds then did their damage at the free throw line as Lee connected on a pair of free throws and then Hawkins hit 1-of-2 with 21.4 left as the Redbirds went ahead 69-66 and Illinois State burned a timeout. Hawkins missed the second which gave Indiana State the ball with 17 seconds left and down 69-66. A Van Sycoc 3-point attempt narrowly missed as the seconds ticked away in the game and the Redbirds walked away with a hard fought 71-66 victory.

Brenton Scott got thrings going for the Sycamores with a contested 3-pointer less than 30 seconds into the game to knot the score. Illinois State answered with the next seven points, but Bunschoten hit a long jumper and then Scott converted a conventional 3-point play with just over 16 minutes on the clock to close the gap at 10-8. Illinois State tallied five in a row before Matt Van Scyoc converted the unconventional 4-point play  and then a steal from Scott and Barnes fast break lay-up got ISU within 15-14. 

The Sycamores battled a dry offensive spell, but only gave up five points as the Redbirds were able to only take a 20-14 lead. Van Scyoc hit his second 3-pointer of the game at the 8:02 mark and then another Scott steal and fast break lay-up pulled ISU within 20-19 of the Redbirds with 7:27 remaining in the first half and forced Illinois State to call a timeout. After a Hawkins jumper, Van Scyoc tied the game with his third 3-pointer of the first half and then Demonte Ojinnaka extended the run and gave the Sycamores their first lead at 25-22 with 5:21 on the clock. A wild sequence of both teams missing inside ended with a Bunschoten jumper at the top of the key with just over two minutes left as ISU took a 27-22 advantage. Bunschoten hit a 3-pointer with just less than a minute left for a four-point lead as the Sycamores took a 30-28 edge into the locker room. Van Scyoc led the way with 10 points in the first 20 minutes of play.

Everett Clemons connected on a jumper on the Sycamores' first possession of the second half to take a 32-28 lead. Clemons converted a conventional 3-point play with 17:34 on the clock on a second chance opportunity as Indiana State held a 37-33 advantage. His second conventional 3-point play of the game, Clemons answered a Redbird spurt to give the Sycamores a 41-38 lead with 14:43 to go. The Redbirds answered and had a chance to take the lead but came up empty before TJ Bell restored a 43-40 lead with just over 13 minutes to go as he connected on a jumper at the death of the shot clock.

The back-and-forth battle continued as the Redbirds tied things up but Scott drained a long jumper for the 45-43 lead at the 12:03 mark.Bell then made the most of a drive in the paint after a media timeout to push the Sycamores ahead by four points. The Redbirds struggled at the charity line, but Bell got a second chance lay-up with 10:06 to go as the Sycamores ran their lead out to 49-44.

Illinois State drew closer and Kessinger made the gap wider with a lay-up near the end of the shot clock and then Scott got yet another steal and fast break score plus the foul and free throw for the 54-47 lead with just over eight minutes to go. It wouldn't take long for the Redbirds as back-to-back 3-pointers from Illinois State got them within 54-53 with 7:22 on the clock and forced the Sycamores to burn a timeout. A pair of MiKyle McIntosh free throws with 6:40 remaining continued the 8-0 run and gave the Redbirds a 55-54 lead. But the freshman Jordan Barnes made a big shot as the clock ticked towards the six minute mark for the 57-55 advantage and then Lee came over the top with a triple of his own and the Redbirds led by a point again.

Deontwa Hawkins and Phil Fayne led the Redbirds with 19 points each.

Indiana State returns home to begin the second half of the Missouri Valley Conference schedule on Saturday, January 28 when they host Loyola for the first time this season. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. (ET) as the Sycamores will host their own Suits and Sneakers matchup to benefit the American Cancer Society.