TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- A late second half rally that saw the Sycamores take a double digit North Texas lead down to just two possessions with two minutes remaining was not enough tonight (Dec. 5) as the visiting Mean Green held on for an 80-69 victory in front of a spirited Hulman Center crowd.

ISU fell to 5-2 while North Texas continued their hot start and improved to 9-1. The loss was the first for the Sycamores since the season opener at Ball State and ended a five-game winning streak. It was the longest for the Sycamores since the 2014-15 campaign.

Jordan Barnes led the way for Indiana State with 26 points and eight rebounds while also dishing out five assists. He did most of his damage inside as he recorded seven two-point field goals and only one from distance while knocking down 9-of-10 from the free throw line. He drew five UNT fouls in the contest. Tyreke Key added 21 points and was 8-of-11 from the field, including a perfect mark of 3-3 from 3-point range. It marked the second time that Barnes and Key have each reached the 20-point scoring mark this season after each did it also in the road victory over Green Bay.




The Sycamores hit 23-of-59 shots (39 percent) and were 6-of-17 (35.3 percent) from downtown. ISU had held each of last five opponents under 40 percent shooting en route to obtaining the five-game winning streak but tonight the Mean Green hit 29-of-60 from the field (48.3 percent). UNT also tallied 13 3-pointers in the contest and hit 40.6 percent from distance.

"We got beat tonight by a really good team," head coach Greg Lansing said. "For 33 minutes I didn't think our effort level was near what it needs to be. When things aren't going well you have to control what you can control and that is playing with tremendous effort at all times."

UNT held a 39-33 edge on the glass, while ISU did pull down 10 offensive rebounds, converting them into six points. ISU forced 17 North Texas turnovers and converted them into 19 points. Barnes paced ISU with a pair of steals.

North Texas scored the first 10 points of the game until Barnes' long deuce trimmed the advantage down to 10-2. ISU would put together a 6-0 run capped by a Clayton Hughes triple at the 13:28 mark to get the Sycamores within 12-8. A lay-up by Barnes with seven seconds left in the first half got ISU within 36-26 but Woolridge would beat the buzzer for the Mean Green and the Sycamores trailed 39-26 at the break.

A long two-pointer by UNT's Duffy staked the Mean Green to a 49-34 lead at the 15:33 mark but ISU would score the next five points, including a 3-pointer from Key at the 14:59 mark to make it 49-39. De'Avion Washington's 3-pointer with 12:39 remaining kept the Sycamores within arms length at the 53-45.

A 10-0 North Texas run was part of a larger 17-4 spurt over the next four minutes of game action which was capped by Smart's triple at the 8:43 mark as the Mean Green took their largest lead of the game at 70-49.

ISU began a slow burn of the UNT lead with a 7-0 run which was capped by a driving lay-up from Barnes with 5:32 remaining but Miller answered with a bucket on the next possession to make it 72-56. Barnes hit both free throws and then a Devin Thomas steal plus Key fast break lay-up moments later made it 72-60 with just over four minutes to go. Key would then hit a pair of free throws plus a Barnes steal and fast break lay-up whittled the deficit down to just 72-64 at the 3:37 mark.

Things really got interesting north of the two minute mark when Emondre Rickman grabbed a long rebound and passed ahead to Barnes who drilled a 3-pointer in transition to cap an amazing 19-2 run and further cut into the lead at 72-67. The Sycamore defense allowed just one field goal over a seven minute span to get back into the game.

Miller drove to the bucket with 1:50 to go to extend their lead out to seven points as UNT answered the late Sycamore push with a 6-0 run of their own to regain an 11-point lead. Key hit a floater in the lane with 32 seconds to make it 78-69 but Duffy hit a pair at the free throw line and ISU missed a triple on what would prove to be their final possession of the game as the Mean Green walked out of Hulman Center with an 80-69 victory.

Four Mean Green reached double figures scoring including Jordan Duffy who scored 23. Ryan Woolridge completed a rare triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the win.

The Sycamores will wrap up the three-game home stand on Saturday, December 8 at 1 pm (ET) against Truman State.