EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- It's always a battle to grab a road win in Missouri Valley Conference play but the Sycamores did just that on the strength of a defensive effort that continued to get better as the game went on en route to a 72-66 road overtime win at Evansville in front of 6,419 fans inside the Ford Center.

The Sycamores improved to 10-6, 2-2 MVC while Evansville fell to 8-9, 2-2 MVC. It was the third win in a row for the Sycamores over the Purple Aces, including its second consecutive victory at Ford Center. It was the first overtime win for the Sycamores since February 1, 2017 --- also a win over Evansville (85-84 in Hulman Center).

Christian Williams led the way with 18 points and added eight rebounds while Tyreke Key posted 16 points and five rebounds. Key hit a huge 3-pointer late in the game that helped the Sycamores along to victory. Emondre Rickman enjoyed one of his finest days as a Sycamore as he tallied 12 points and went 5-of-7 from the field while Jordan Barnes scored 11 points and added five rebounds with three assists and two steals. Barnes became the 39th member of the Indiana State Basketball 1,000 Point Club on the Sycamores' first score of the game and by accomplishing the feat in 77 games is the 5th fastest to reach the milestone at ISU in the MVC era. 

The story of this game had to be the Sycamore defensive effort. ISU forced 19 Evansville turnovers and scored 24 points off them. Additionally, the Sycamores did not allow a field goal in the overtime period as the Purple Aces missed all six of their shots from the field, including all four of their 3-point attempts. For the game, Evansville was limited to 35.0 percent shooting (21-of-60) while the Sycamores hit 4-of-8 (50 percent) in extra time and 39.7 percent (25-of-63) for the game.

ISU made a concerted effort to score inside as they tallied 42 points in the paint and limited Evansville to just 28 points inside. The Sycamores tallied 43 rebounds in the game and added nine steals -- four different Sycamores recorded two steals each.

Tyreke Key buried a huge 3-pointer with 3:40 remaining to cut the Sycamore deficit down to just 51-50 after Emondre Rickman grabbed a big time blocked shot to secure a defensive stop. The blocked shot was Rickman's 109th of his career which tied Nate Green for fourth all-time at ISU.

Christian Williams hit a pair of free throws and Emondre Rickman answered an Evansville 3-pointer with just over two minutes to go which knotted the Sycamores and Purple Aces up at 54. Barnes was fouled with 1:43 remaining at the top of the key and as the Sycamores found themselves in the double bonus he hit both free throws to push the ISU lead to 56-54. Evansville dribbled out of bounds and Williams made them pay as he drove baseline with just over a minute to go to stretch the Sycamore lead out to 58-54. The Purple Aces countered with a bucket inside and ISU called a timeout to set up a big offensive possession.

Barnes missed the floater in the lane but Holston came up with a huge offensive rebound and was fouled with 17.8 seconds remaining and hit both for the 60-56 lead. But Shea Feehan drilled a deep 3-pointer and Barnes connected on a free throw for a 61-59 lead. Feehan would drive the baseline and score with 3.1 seconds left to knot the game. Barnes raced the length of the floor but his attempt at the buzzer was high off the glass to send the game into overtime.

Barnes would score the first points of overtime with a driving lay-up and Christian Williams added a jumper in the paint on the second possession of the extra period for the 65-63 lead. Key stretched the cushion to 67-63 with a shot that bounced twice high off the rim as the clock ticked towards the three minute mark. The Purple Aces used the charity stripe to draw within a point. Williams came up with a huge offensive rebound and tip-in with 2:04 to go which stretch the ISU lead to 69-66.

Williams would come up with another offensive rebound with 40 seconds remaining in overtime and hit both free throws to send the cushion out to 71-66. Evan Kuhlman committed the 19th Evansville turnover the game and Barnes hit 1-of-2 from the free throw line to give ISU a 72-66 victory.

Jordan Barnes became the 39th member of the Indiana State Basketball 1,000 Point Club on the Sycamores' second possession of the game as he raced down the floor and hit a 3-pointer just over a minute into the contest which staked the Sycamores to an early advantage. The Sycamores would race out to an 11-6 advantage around the first media timeout as Allante Holston buried a trifecta and then Bronson Kessinger scored inside as the clock neared the 15 minute mark.



The Purple Aces knotted the game up but consecutive field goals from Cooper Neese and Emondre Rickman to stake the Sycamores to a 15-11 lead with 12:32 left before the break. Clayton Hughes connected on a lay-up with 8:31 on the clock for a 19-16 lead before Evansville scored six in a row to give them a three point lead. Barnes drilled a jumper with 5:20 to go which drew the Sycamores within 22-21. A Marty Hill fast break lay-up with 3:33 on the clock pushed the Evansville lead out to 28-21 but Key and Williams scored inside in the final two minutes to draw within three points at 28-25. Evansville scored just once in the final three minutes and took a 30-25 lead in the half. Jordan Barnes and Allante Holston each scored five points in the opening stanza and hit 35.5 percent of their shots (11-of-31).

Just as they did to open the game, the Sycamores went inside to Rickman on the first possession of the second half and he answered with a lay-up to cut the Evansville lead down to 30-27. Rickman was fouled on the next possession and hit both free throws then after drawing an offensive foul Rickman scored inside as ISU regained a 31-30 lead as the clock ticked under the 18 minute mark. The 6-0 run ended with a 3-pointer by Evansville which pushed them back ahead 33-31 with 17 minutes to go.

ISU would answer with buckets on back-to-back possessions including a driving lay-up by Key with just under 15 minutes on the clock as ISU led 35-33. Evansville snuck back ahead before the Sycamores went back to Rickman on consecutive possessions and the game was knotted at 41 with just over 10 minutes remaining. The Sycamores did hold a 44-43 lead with 9:31 remaining off a Christian Williams steal and free throw. Evansville would hold the Sycamores scoreless for nearly three minutes as they scored five in a row for a four point lead. Bronson Kessinger hit a pair of free throws with 6:31 remaining to sneak back within a possession at 48-46.

Evansville was led by Shea Feehan who scored 12 points and hit a big 3-pointer late in regulation which helped send the game to overtime.

Indiana State stays on the road for their next contest as they travel to Northern Iowa on Wednesday, January 16 for an 8 pm (ET) tip-off against the Panthers. Then the attention turns to January 19 when the Sycamores host Loyola for a 2 pm (ET) matchup inside Hulman Center when we celebrate the 1979 run to the Final Four when #MarchWentMad. About 300 tickets remain for sale for the game as well as the unforgettable pregame and post game ceremonies.