PEORIA, Ill. -- Indiana State dug down deep and gutted out a 66-64 victory over Bradley In front of 7,827 fans inside Carver Arena. The win allows the Sycamores the take advantage of an opening round bye at next week's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as they earned the league's No. 6 seed.

The Sycamores as the No. 6 seed at Arch Madness will face off against Illinois State (who owns a large lead in the RPI tiebreaker over Drake) on Friday, March 2 at 9:30 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised live on the Missouri Valley Conference Television Network.

Leading 62-61, Brenton Scott was fouled heading to the basket and hit a pair of free throws with 2:33 remaining to stretch the advantage out to 64-61. Bradley would come back to tie it with three points on their next two possessions including a Donte Thomas lay-up with 1:42 remaining to knot the game at 64.

Jordan Barnes took a step back jumper after a big defensive stop and it was long but Qiydar Davis came through with a put back to push the Sycamores ahead 66-64 with just under 10 seconds remaining. Each team called a timeout with 6.1 seconds on the clock to set up the final play. Bradley nearly turned the ball over and a last second heave fell short and into the waiting arms of Brandon Murphy to secure the thrilling two-point victory.

Murphy finished the game with 10 rebounds -- his last the biggest -- and the Sycamores dominated the glass to the tune of a 45-29 advantage. 17 Sycamore offensive rebounds led to 16 second chance points -- none bigger than Davis' put back in the waning moments to push ISU ahead for the final time.

Jordan Barnes led the way with 13 points while freshman Tyreke Key added 11. Brenton Scott hit 4-of-5 from the free throw line down the stretch to score 10 while Qiydar Davis added 10 -- including the game winner.

ISU hit 23-of-61 shots from the field (37.7 percent) while Bradley connected on 41.5 percent of their shots. The Sycamores connected on eight 3-pointers in the contest.

Clayton Hughes, earned the start today, buried a 3-pointer at the 16:50 mark to push ISU ahead 7-5 and then Emondre Rickman made it a four-point advantage on the next possession as he rattled one home on the next possession. Following the first media timeout, Barnes made it a 7-0 run and a 12-5 lead when he drained his 111th 3-pointer of the season. The Braves came back with six in a row before a Brandon Murphy dunk as well as a Brenton Scott steal and dunk for the 19-13 lead as the clock ticked towards the 10 minute mark.

A tough Jordan Barnes jumper at the 8:26 mark established a six-point lead before Bradley scored on consecutive possessions to inch closer of ISU at 21-20 as the clock went below the eight minute mark. Qiydar Davis then would go on to score five points in a row, including a 3-pointer with 4:30 remaining for the 27-25 lead. 

Donte Thomas knotted the game at 29 before Scott twirled in the lane and converted a lay-up and then Barnes connected on a trio of free throws for the 34-29 advantage. The Sycamores had a look inside which resulted in a long rebound and run out for the Braves as they trimmed Indiana State's halftime lead down to 34-31. Barnes and Davis led the Sycamores with eight points each at the break.

Tyreke Key hit the first big shot of the second half when he drained a 3-pointer at the 17:40 for the 39-33 cushion. The two teams went back-and-forth from distance as Barnes connected from long range and then was answered by Bradley's Nate Kennell. Then Tyreke Key came back with a trifecta from the corner to push ISU ahead 45-44 as the lead changed on three consecutive possessions. The Braves came back to take the lead in the paint, before Bronson Kessinger answered in the paint himself at the 11:28 mark to push the Sycamores ahead 47-46. The Braves turned it over and Scott hit a pair of free throws on the next possession to stretch the cushion out to three points.

Brandon Murphy grabbed another offensive rebound and Kessinger was credited with the tip-in as ISU led it 51-48 as the clock ticked under the nine minute mark. Kessinger then drove the lane after a Bradley score, grabbed a huge defensive rebound and allowed Brenton Scott to use a shot fake to set up a mid range jumper with 7:25 to go which staked the Sycamores to the 55-50 lead. After the Braves grabbed one point at the free throw line, Rickman hauled in a big offensive rebound and put it back in for the 57-51 advantage.

The Braves countered with five in a row to draw within a point before Tyreke Key drained his third trey of the game to establish a 60-56 advantage. As the game went all the way from that point before, Bradley scored four in a row to knot the game at 60. Barnes drove the lane to push the Sycamores ahead 62-60 with just under four minutes to go.