HONOLULU, Hawai'i -- For the first time since 1946, the Sycamores downed a PAC-12 team as they led by as many as 14 points in the second half and made huge play after huge play down the stretch to earn a tough 72-67 win over Colorado in the opener of the 2018 Diamond Head Classic, hosted by ESPN Events and the University of Hawai'i.





The Sycamores improved to 7-3 on the season while Colorado fell to 8-2. Colorado, which entered the game at No. 46 in the NET rankings, became the first PAC-12 member to fall to Indiana State since the Sycamores downed Oregon in 1946. It is also just the second-ever win for the Indiana State program against the current membership of the PAC-12.

Up 64-61 and out of a timeout which allowed Jordan Barnes to reenter the contest with 3:24 on the clock, he took a good look at a triple but the ball went off the front of the rim and more importantly off a Colorado defender to keep the possession alive with 3:03 to go. The possession came up empty, but the Buffs only hit 1-of-2 free throws to get within a pair, and with the shot clock winding down and the clock approaching the one minute mark, Cooper Neese stroked a high floater into the bottom of the net to give ISU a 66-62 cushion. 

Shane Gatling countered with a corner 3-pointer at the 1:14 mark to trim the Sycamore lead down to 66-65. Key had a big second chance bucket and then a fast break lay-up with 15.5 seconds left for the 70-67 lead. The Buffalos called their final timeout to set a potential game-tying play but Gatling's contested 3-pointer was short and Neese came down with the rebound. With five seconds on the clock, Neese went to the free throw line to hit a pair and gave the Sycamores a thrilling 72-67 victory.

Jordan Barnes led the way for the Sycamores with 19 points as he hit four first half 3-pointers and finished with a 5-of-8 mark from distance in the game. Christian Williams reached double figures scoring for his second consecutive game as he tallied 14 points and added seven rebounds. Tyreke Key scored 12 quiet points but it was his late put back and then fast break lay-up that helped seal the victory. Cooper Neese, playing in just his second collegiate game, scored 10 points and added six rebounds in the winning effort.

ISU hit 28-of-63 shots in the game (44.4 percent) and allowed Colorado a 48.1 percent mark. However, the Buffalos turned the ball over 19 times and allowed the Sycamores to score 20 points off those miscues. Also big was the Sycamores 34-32 edge in rebounding, including 11 offensive boards while resulted in a 17-7 edge in second chance points. The Sycamores finished with nine 3-pointers in the game, hitting 9-of-16 from distance which nets a 56.3 percent mark. The Sycamores entered the game tied for first nationally with Creighton for the best 3-point percentage in the nation.

The Sycamores hit 5 of their first 9 shots from the field after the half as Christian Williams went to the rim twice as did Bronson Kessinger and Clayton Hughes before Emondre Rickman beat the shot clock with a hook shot in the paint at the 15:50 mark to push the ISU lead out to 48-34.

Colorado put together a 6-0 run to get the Sycamore lead down to single digits but Williams hit a floater in the paint at the 12:41 mark to push Indiana State ahead 50-40. The Buffalos made a push to get within a pair of points before Williams grabbed a steal in the paint and went to the rim plus the foul for a conventional 3-point play at the 8:42 mark to regain a 55-50 advantage. The Buffs scored inside but so did Kessinger with a sweet turnaround in the paint as ISU led 57-52 with just over eight minutes remaining.

Kessinger made the bucket stand up as he took a charge on the defensive end ahead of the under eight media timeout. The Buffs drew within three points but Barnes hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game and then a Williams steal and lay-up restored a 62-54 lead with 6:35 remaining.

The Buffs would not go away in a spirited contest as they drew within a possession but Barnes was fouled on a drive after a long defensive rebound and he hit a pair with 4:30 remaining to push the Sycamores ahead 64-59. D'Shawn Schwartz hit a driving lay-up to get within three points which led to an Indiana State timeout with 3:24 remaining.

Christian Williams got the Sycamores on the board first as he drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key on the opening possession for a quick 3-0 lead. Barnes added another from the corner at the 17:24 mark to stretch the ISU lead out to 8-2. The Buffs tied it up before Devin Thomas and Tyreke Key scored on consecutive possessions while the Sycamore defense clamped down as Indiana State led 12-8 with 12:36 left in the opening stanza. Barnes would drain his second triple of the game off an offensive rebound from Williams to stretch the lead out to 15-10. But the Buffs scored on back-to-back possessions including a trifecta from Shane Gatling which knotted the game at 15.

Barnes stayed hot from distance as he drained his third 3-pointer of the game with 9:41 remaining in the half -- this time a step-back move -- to push the Sycamores ahead 18-15. 

Cooper Neese got the Sycamore offense cooking with back-to-back 3-pointer around the seven minute mark to take a game knotted at 20 and stake the Sycamores a 26-20 lead. Emondre Rickman followed up a lay-up to complete the 8-0 run and push the Sycamores ahead 28-20. 

As the clock ticked towards the minute mark, De'Avion Washington used a baseline drive to put the ball in the basket and then Barnes made it a perfect 4-of-4 from himself from 3-point range with a triple which pushed the Sycamores lead out to 11 points. Colorado's Deleon Brown hit a 3-pointer to close the half as the Sycamores led 36-28 at the half. Barnes led the way with 12 points while ISU hit an eye-popping 8-of-12 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.

Indiana State is right back in action tomorrow, Sunday, December 23 when they take on either UNLV or host Hawaii at 4:30 pm (ET) live on ESPNU/2.