HONOLULU, Hawai'i -- For the second time in the last nine days, the Indiana State Sycamores met Texas Christian on the hard wood -- this time in the Championship Game of the 2018 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. TCU -- ranked well within the Top 50 of the NCAA's N.E.T. rankings captured the tournament title with an 83-69 victory inside the Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii.

ISU wraps non-conference play with an impressive 8-4 record while TCU won their seventh straight to improve to 11-1.

Indiana State's second place finish in the 2018 Diamond Head Classic is the best for the program since becoming the only program not named Indiana to win the Indiana Classic with wins over North Texas and the Hoosiers in 1999. ISU's eight non-conference victories are tied for the third-most ever under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing.

TCU's lead reached 71-49 before the Sycamores scored five points in a row, including a 3-pointer from Tyreke Key with 8:30 remaining which trimmed the Horned Frogs advantage down to 71-54 and forced them to call a timeout. That's when the Sycamores showed their true grit by forcing a total of nine missed shots in a row and put together a terrific 11-0 run over a six minute scoring drought for TCU. The run ended on a Christian Williams jumper which saw the ISU deficit trimmed all the way down to 71-60 and forced Jamie Dixon to call another timeout. 

A Christian Williams fast break lay-up as the clock ticked under the three minute mark got ISU within 73-64. Barnes hit a pair of free throws at the 2:12 mark to once creep the Sycamores within nine points. 

Jordan Barnes, who earned a well deserved spot on the Diamond Head Classic All-Tournament Team after he posted 14 points as ISU hit 28-of-56 shots for a 50.0 percentage. Barnes has now hit 26 free throws in a row after a perfect 4-of-4 showing against the Horned Frogs. Tyreke Key went 5-of-8 from the field to finish with 14 points as well. Also in double figures scoring were Christian Williams and Clayton Hughes with 10 points each.




Each team began with tough, hard play on the defense end as Jordan Barnes broke through first for the Sycamores with a trifecta at the 15:53 mark to answer four early points by the Horned Frogs and claw ISU within 4-3. ISU took its first lead of the contest with 13:51 left in the first half when Barnes drove to the basket to complete a 5-0 Sycamore run. Barnes would score the Sycamores' first seven points of the contest, until Bronson Kessinger answered a 9-0 TCU at the 9:47 mark with a driving lay-up at the rim to cut the Horned Frog lead to six points.

TCU stroked a trey at the 8:58 mark to push them ahead by seven points before Clayton Hughes and Tyreke Key scored on consecutive possessions to creep the Sycamores back to within a possession at 18-16. 

Barnes would connect on a pair of free throws with 5:16 remaining to draw the Sycamores within three points at 23-20. Then after TCU was whistled for a technical foul, the Horned Frogs embarked on a 9-0 run to push their lead into double digits. Key's baseline jumper with four seconds remaining sent the Sycamores into the half trailing 40-30. Barnes owned nine points at the break as they hit 50 percent of their shots while TCU connected on 57.1 percent.

Emondre Rickman scored inside on the Sycamores' opening possession after halftime as the lead bounced back and forth between eight and 13 points. Barnes connected on his first triple of the second half to move into double figures scoring at the 17:05 mark as ISU trailed 51-41 at the first media timeout after halftime. With 12:57 remaining, Cooper Neese used a soft touch to put the ball into the bucket to creep the Sycamores within 59-47. But the Horned Frogs scored on consecutive possessions as they drove to the basket to open a 16-point advantage and force the Sycamores to call a timeout.

The Horned Frogs were led by 15 points from Alex Robinson.

Indiana State opens Missouri Valley Conference play on Wednesday, January 2 at 2018 NCAA Final Four participant Loyola. Tip-off against the Ramblers is set for 9:00 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on the Missouri Valley Conference TV Network (Fox Sports Midwest & NBC Sports Chicago) as well as the ESPN app.