VALPARAISO, Ind. -- The Sycamores battled in the second half on the road in the Missouri Valley Conference but home standing Valparaiso held the edge with a 69-63 victory over Indiana State on Wednesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

Indiana State fell to 10-13, 5-6 MVC while Valparaiso improved to 12-12, 3-8 MVC.

Jordan Barnes led the way for the Sycamores with 23 points as he hit eight shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Brandon Murphy led the team with seven rebounds as the Sycamores held a 38-30 edge on the glass.

ISU hit 23-of-49 shots from the field (46.9 percent) while Valparaiso hit 42.9 percent. The Crusaders made 22 free throws while ISU only benefited from 14 points at the line.

Barnes got things going in the second half and his step back jumper as the clock ticked down below the nine minute mark shifted the score in favor of the Sycamores 50-49. After a Sycamore timeout, Barnes did it again with another jumper which pushed the lead out to three points. Valpo drew within a point, but Matt Deady grabbed a steal and then a fast break lay-up with 5:15 remaining which restored the 54-51 cushion.

Valparaiso countered with the Sycamores spurt with six in a row to take a 57-54 lead heading into the final media timeout. The Crusaders lead grew to five points before a Qiydar Davis steal and Jordan Barnes lay-up got ISU within 59-56 with 2:48 remaining. Murphy countered at the 1:08 mark after Valpo went ahead by seven points with a dunk to to cut the deficit down to 63-58. The Crusaders took a six-point lead with a free throw and then with 36.9 seconds left Scott drove down the floor to convert the conventional 3-point play which whittled the lead down to 64-61. Barnes then strolled to the free throw line with 29.9 seconds left and hit a pair to further cut into the Crusader lead at 65-63.

The Crusaders answered with two free throws at the 26.7 second mark from John Kiser and then called timeout to regain a four point lead.

The Sycamores raced out to a quick 6-0 advantage as they scored on three early possessions including a Barnes jumper and a Devin Thomas jumper on a second chance opportunity. Qiydar Davis had the first 3-pointer of the game for the Sycamores at the 8:41 mark which pushed the Sycamores ahead 17-16.

Valparaiso took a three point lead midway through the first half until second chance scoring opportunities for the Sycamores proved to be fruitful. Emondre Rickman cleaned up a miss with a dunk and then Matt Deady ran through the lane unblocked for an easy lay-up as the clock ticked towards the six minute mark to get ISU within 22-21. Deady then scored on a drive down the lane which was finished with a dunk at the five minute mark and the Valpo lead was trimmed to 25-24. The two teams then traded buckets as Derrik Smits hit a contested jumper but Qiydar Davis answered with a 15-footer of his own to once make it a one-point game.

Valparaiso went on a 7-0 run to build a nine-point advantage until Jordan Barnes ended the drought with a conventional 3-point play at the 1:47 mark to cut the Crusader lead down to 34-28. The final points of the first half came on a pair of Murphy charity tosses with 47 seconds remaining before both teams came up empty on their offensive end. Barnes led the way with seven points while Murphy added six points and four rebounds.

Devin Thomas and Scott sparked the offense early in the second half to trim the Valpo lead down to 36-34. After the Crusaders grew back to four points, Jordan Barnes hit his first trifecta of the game to get ISU within a point, but Valparaiso had the answer with a trey of their own from John Kiser to give them a 41-37 advantage with 15:55 remaining. But Barnes would drain a 3-pointer in transition following a defensive stop by Deady and then Barnes put ISU ahead with a long jumper as the clock ticked under 15 minutes to go for the 42-41 advantage. Another stop and transition bucket from Tyreke Key staked the Sycamores to a 44-41 lead with 14:25 remaining which forced Valparaiso to call a timeout.

Following the break, Valpo regained a one-point lead before Davis scored on a drive down the lane and ISU found itself up 46-45. 

Indiana State concludes its two-game road swing when they travel to Northern Iowa on Saturday, February 3. The game will be televised on the Missouri Valley Conference Television Network as well as Fox Sports Go and The Valley on ESPN3.