BIMINI, Bahamas – For the second consecutive contest, the Sycamores fired away early and often from 3-point range en route to a convincing 84-74 victory over the Air Force Academy on the third and final day of the 2019 Junkanoo Jam.
 
The Sycamores won two out of three games at the Junkanoo Jam to improve to 2-4 on the season. Air Force fell to 2-5. Indiana State now owns 15 wins in multi-team events under 10^th-year head coach Greg Lansing and pending the results of later games will finish as the tournament champion or runner up in this year's tournament.
 
Indiana State was paced by 26 points from Tyreke Key who hit 8-of-17 from the field and connected on a career-high tying four 3-pointers. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Cooper Neese reached double digits scoring for the second consecutive game as he hit a trio of 3-pointers to score 16 while Jordan Barnes chipped in 13 points on the strength of a 4-of-5 shooting performance from long range.
 
The Sycamores owned a 28-22 edge on the glass, including a team-high of eight for Neese.
 
The Sycamores blazed the nets again for a 26-of-46 mark which is 56.5 percent. Indiana State drained a season-high 15-of-26 from long distance (57.7 percent) while holding Air Force to just 44.6 percent from the field.
 
Leading by seven at the half, Key hit from distance and then Cooper Neese posted a conventional 3-point play to run the Sycamore advantage out to 44-31. The Sycamores put together an 8-0 run which included a Key driving lay-up and then his second 3-pointer of the half plus Jordan Barnes' fourth 3-pointer of the game to five the Sycamores a 52-33 lead with 16:56 remaining. Neese connected on the team's 12^th 3-pointer of the contest as the clock ticked towards the 15 minute mark and the lead hit 20 points at 55-35.
 
Key and the Sycamores kept pouring it on at the 13:58 mark when he connected on his fourth 3-pointer of the game as well as the 13^th for the team to run the lead out to 60-37. Tre Williams hit a hook shot on the next possession and Indiana State would lead by 25 points at 62-37.
 
Air Force countered with an 11-0 run as they hit a trio of 3-pointers in a short spurt to cut the Sycamore lead down to 14 points with 11:25 remaining. Tre Williams connected on a jumper in the lane with 11:04 remaining to end the Falcons run and restore a 64-48 cushion.
 
Williams came up big on the defensive end after Air Force cut the Sycamore lead down to just 13 points as he took a charge to wipe off a Falcon bucket. It proved to be a 17-2 Air Force run over a five minute stretch in which the Sycamores went 0-of-3 from the field and added a trio of turnovers. When Chris Joyce hit a jumper with 8:35 remaining the Sycamore lead had shrunk to 64-54. The spurt ended when freshman Jake LaRavia hit a pair of free throws with 8:18 on the clock to swell the advantage to 66-54.
 
Cam Bacote ended a four minute scoring drought with a big 3-pointer at the death of the shot clock – his third of the contest and the team's 14^th – to give the Sycamores a 69-58 lead. Neese would hit the Sycamores 15^th 3-pointer of the game with 5:12 to go which pushed the Sycamore lead out to 72-60. A floater by Key as the clock ticked towards the four minute mark stretch the Indiana State cushion out to 74-60.
 
The Sycamores scored the first four points of the game as Tre Williams connected on the opening possession and then Tyreke Key hit on a long jumper on the next trip down the floor. A Cooper Neese 3-pointer three minutes into the contest push the Sycamores ahead 7-4. Cam Bacote gave the Sycamores an early surge with trifectas on consecutive trips down the floor and ISU entered the midpoint of the opening stanza with a 19-12 lead.
 
Christian Williams hit a corner three with 7:50 on the clock and Christopher Agbo scored inside on the next possession to stretch the advantage out to double digits at 24-14. A Caleb Morris 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining cut the Sycamore advantage down to just five points but Key hit a pair of free throws and Tre Williams scored inside on the last offensive possession of the half to run the lead up to nine. Chris Joyce hit a driving lay-up as the buzzer sounded and Indiana State led 38-31 at the break.
 
Air Force was led in scoring by 17 from Ryan Swan.
 
Indiana State makes their home debut inside Hulman Center on Saturday, November 30 when they host Missouri-St. Louis. Tip-off against the Tritons is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (ET).