EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Indiana State found most of its success down low around the basket, but it would not be enough as a pair of Jaylon Brown free throws with 2.6 seconds left were the difference as Evansville won 65-63 at the Ford Center on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale for both clubs.

Indiana State heads into the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a record of 11-19, 5-13 MVC while Evansville improved to 15-16, 6-12 MVC. It marked the 18th game this season that Indiana State has found itself in a one possession game with two minutes or less remaining.

TJ Bell led the way for the Sycamores with 14 points as he hit 6-of-9 shots from the field. Emondre Rickman scored eight points off the bench and tallied a career-best 12 rebounds. Jordan Barnes and Brenton Scott added 11 points each off the bench.

The Sycamores hit only 22-of-61 shots from the field (36.1 percent) and were limited to just a 3-of-18 mark from long range (16.7 percent). Evansville won the battle of the glass by a 43-35 mark.

Laquarious Paige hit a mid range jumper to get the scoring going in the contest and then his 3-pointer with 16:45 on the clock tied the contest at five. Emondre Rickman found Brenton Scott for a pass across the lane with 13:35 remaining as the Sycamores inched ahead 9-8 in an early back-and-forth contest. Evansville countered with the next eight points as they found success inside to take a 16-9 lead and forced a Sycamore timeout with 11:25 remaining in the first half. Evansville tacked on two more points before Jordan Barnes found TJ Bell inside with 8:43 left in the first half to get the Sycamores within 18-11.

The Purple Aces tallied four points in a row but Barnes scored wide-open inside off the feed from Paige as the clock read 7:17 and the Evansville advantage shrunk to 22-13. After a timeout, Scott found Bell inside open for a lay-up and the Evansville lead was down to just seven points. After a UE airball, the run reached six in a row off a dribble drive from Scott and the Purple Aces edge was down to 22-17. 

Clemons missed a 3-pointer but showed his nose for the ball with an offensive rebound and lay-up as the clock ticked under the four minute mark and Evansville led 25-19. Rickman then scored inside on the next possession after a sttop to get within four points. Then a steal and fastbreak lay-up down the lane from Clemons got the Sycamores within 25-23 with 3:02 left in the opening stanza and forced Evansville to call a timeout. 

An Emondre Rickman jumper in the paint with just over a minute remaining answered an Evansville bucket and trimmed the Purple Aces lead down to three points. A pair of Jaylon Brown free throws in the final minute of the first half gave Evansville a 30-25 halftime lead. Laquarious Paige led the Sycamores with five first half points.

Evansville scored first out of the break, but Matt Van Scyoc countered with a 3-pointer to draw the Sycamores within four points. After a Clemons defensive rebound, Bell and then Scott scored inside to make it seven points in a row for the Sycamores and tied the score at 32. A circus shot from Clemons with just over 17 minutes to go made it a 9-0 run and staked the Sycamores to their first lead since early in the contest at 34-32. After the Purple Aces tied the game, Scott hit a pair of free throws to make it an 11-2 run and ISU held a 36-34 advantage. 

After the Purple Aces had stretched their lead back out to five points, Emondre Rickman had a big putback inside as the clock ticked under the 13 minute mark and the Evansville lead had shrunk down to 42-39. Rickman scored inside on a second chance opportunity and was fouled with 11:24 remaining to draw Indiana State within 45-41. The Sycamores survived a missed front end of a bonus opportunity where Clemons found Barnes open on the break for a conventional 3-point play with 10:17 remaining and the Sycamores trailed 45-44. Evansville scored three in a row before Bell tallied a lay-up down low to make it one possession game with nine minutes to go.

Brenton Scott hit a pair of free throws out of the under eight timeout to draw the Sycamores within 55-51. Bell scored down low to answer an Evansville jumper as he reached double figures scoring. With 4:24 remaining, Bell hit a pair of pair of free throws and Evansville lead was down to 60-55. After the final media timeout, Paige converted a pair of free throws and the Evansville advantage was down to just three points.

Evansville went to the free throw line and missed a pair before Scott hit 1-of-2 with 3:25 remaining as Evansville held a 60-58 lead. After Evansville hit a free throw, Bell scored down low with just over two minutes remaining after a big save off a long rebound from Barnes and the Purple Aces found themselves up 61-60. David Howard then hit 1-of-2 free throws and the Sycamores owned the basketball down just two points with 1:37 to go.

Trailing 63-60, Jordan Barnes was fouled on a 3-point attempt and connected on a all three of his free throws to knot the score at 63. Jaylon Brown was then fouled with 2.6 seconds left and after a Sycamore timeout, He hit both free throws to give Evansville a two-point lead before Brenton Scott's heave just across half court went wide and gave the Purple Aces a 65-63 victory.

Evansville was led by 24 points from Jaylon Brown.

Indiana State will begin play in the 2017 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday, March 2 inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. It will be a rematch of the regular season finale as the Sycamores are the No. 9 seed and will take on No. 8 Evansville in the tournament opener at 7 pm (ET). The game will be televised on the MVC TV Network/ESPN3/Fox Sports Go. The winner of Thursday night's game will play top seed Illinois State on Friday, March 3 at 1 pm (ET).