TERRE HAUTE, Ind. --- Indiana State clamped down on the defensive end in the second half after both teams blistered the nets in the early going as the Sycamores earned an 80-63 victory over visiting McKendree in front of 3,146 fans inside Hulman Center for the home opener.
 
Indiana State improved to 2-1 on the season while McKendree fell to 0-3. The Sycamores are now 7-2 all-time in home openers under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing. With the victory, he now has 135 in his career and at Indiana State which gives him sole possession of second place on the Sycamore coaching wins list. The school record is held by Duane Klueh who owns 182.
 
The Sycamores placed four scorers in double figures led by Tyreke Key who posted a career-high for the second consecutive game with 23 points. He added five rebounds in the victorious effort. Jordan Barnes hit four 3-pointers as he tallied 19 points to go with five steals and four assists while Devin Thomas and Bronson Kessinger added 10 each. Thomas led the way for the Sycamores with eight rebounds while Kessinger tallied seven.
 
It was the first time that the Sycamores had four double figure scorers in the same game since the regular season finale win at Bradley on February 24, 2018.
 
Overall, ISU held a 42-29 edge on the glass and an 11-6 cushion in second chance points. ISU was strong inside as they outscored the Bearcats 30-14 in the paint and converted 16 McKendree turnovers into 15 points. Solid in transition, the Sycamores scored 16 fast break points. ISU once again made frequent visits to charity stripe as they hit 24-of-35 attempts. The Sycamores hit 63 percent of their attempts from the field in the opening stanza while the Bearcats converted 55.6 percent of their shots. In the second half, the Sycamores held McKendree to just 8-of-32 shooting (25 percent) after the break.
 
For the game, the Sycamores hit 25-of-53 attempts (47.2 percent) and were 6-of-15 from 3-point land (40 percent).
 
 Leading by six points at the half, Barnes got ISU on the board first after halftime when he hit a pair of free throws with just over 18 minutes on the clock to stretch the lead out to 44-36. When Bronson Kessinger grabbed his own offensive rebound at the 15:31 mark it answered a McKendree run to stretch the lead back out to five points. But Giovanni Offard countered with a long jumper of his own as the Bearcats climbed back within three points. Kessinger hit a free throw at the 14:41 mark which stretched the Sycamore lead back out to four points but Carrington Bass countered with his third 3-pointer of the contest on the next possession and the Indiana State lead was down to a point.
 
Devin Thomas was fouled moving towards the bucket at the 13:40 mark and hit a pair of free throws but as the teams continued to teeter back and forth, Logan Kohrmann hit a driving lay-up to once again whittle the ISU lead down to 50-49. That began a slow run at the free throw line for the Sycamores as Devin Thomas went 1-of-2 on consecutive trips down the floor and Key buried a pair with 11:32 on the clock to push the Sycamores ahead 54-49.
 
The Sycamores seemed to steal the momentum as the clock ticked towards the 11 minute mark when Barnes grabbed the steal and went full court as he tossed a perfect alley-oop pass to Hughes who flushed the ball into the bucket with a foul. Once the play was over the Sycamores found themselves up 57-49. ISU led by six points when Key leaped high in the air for a steal near the mid court line and fed De'Avion Washington for fast break lay-up to push the cushion up to 59-51.
 
Key went over 20 points for the second consecutive contest at the 8:24 mark when he hit a pair of free throws to stretch the ISU lead out to 65-53. Barnes hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game at the 3:46 mark to stake the Sycamores to a 72-56 advantage. Key reset his career-high for the second consecutive game when he scored with just over three minutes remaining to stretch the lead out to 74-58.
 
Jordan Barnes led things off for the Sycamores as he connected on a 3-pointer at the 19:27 mark of the first half to stake Indiana State to a quick 3-0 advantage. Devin Thomas would score inside two minutes later as ISU led 5-0. A Nate Michael 3-pointer at the 11:03 mark pushed the Bearcats ahead 14-13. But Bronson Kessinger answered with a personal 5-0 run including a dunk and 3-pointer around the 10 minute mark as ISU retook an 18-14 lead. Tyreke Key's trifecta at the 8:01 mark keyed a 7-0 Sycamore run which pushed the ISU advantage ahead to 25-16.
 
With 4:12 on the clock, Barnes hit his second 3-pointer of the game which gave ISU a 34-26 lead as Key found him for the assist. McKendree had the answer with a Logan Kohnrmann triple just 13 seconds later to trim the advantage down to five points. Key became the first Sycamore to reach double figures scoring with a jumper at the 3:29 mark which established a 36-29 cushion. Tyeshon Martin saw four minutes of action in the first half and he scored his first college point at the free throw line with 3:06 left in the first half to give ISU an eight-point lead.
 
Key would score his 14^th point of the first half when he hit a charity toss with two seconds remaining as ISU led 42-36 at the half.
 
McKendree was led in scoring by Carrington Bass who had 14 points.
 
Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, November 24 when they host Western Kentucky inside Hulman Center. Tip-off is slated for 2 pm (ET).