TERRE HAUTE, Ind.  – Tyreke Key scored 31 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Sycamores to their sixth consecutive win as they downed visiting Tennessee State by the score of 78-72 in front of 3,123 fans inside Hulman Center.




 
Indiana State improved to 6-4 on the season while Tennessee State fell to 7-5. The Sycamores improved to 3-0 this season at home and are now 3-0 all-time against the Tigers. The six-game winning streak is the longest for the program since a seven-gamer from December 21, 2013 until January 15, 2014 – which included a 5-0 start to MVC play.
 
Key was the workhorse for the Sycamores as he posted 31 points and led the team with eight rebounds as well. He was 18-of-22 from the free throw line in the contest which was just four makes and attempts short of Butch Wade's school-record 22-of-26 performance against Kent State back in 1964. He tallied a trio of 3-pointers in the contest. Key drew 12 fouls in the contest.
 
The Sycamores entered the game as the fourth-best 3-point shooting team in the country but still won despite just a 5-of-20 (25.0 percent) showing from distance.
 
Also in double figures scoring was freshman Tre Williams who was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field to score 12 points and he added five rebounds.
 
ISU did most of their damage from the free throw line as they made 27-of-39 attempts. From the field, the Sycamores hit 23-of-59 (39.0 percent) and were just 8-of-26 from the field (30.8 percent) in the second half. The Sycamores' last field goal in the game came at the 8:58 mark on a dunk from Jake LaRavia.
 
Tennessee State owned a 28-of-59 clip from the field (47.5 percent), but fell victim to 16 turnovers in the game which turned into 20 Sycamore points. ISU did a good job in transition as they scored 17 fast break points.
 
The Tigers scored the game's first seven points in the contest, until LaRavia scored at the 18:14 mark to cut their lead down to 7-2. A Key 3-pointer with 14:30 remaining pushed the Sycamores to their first lead at 12-11. Trailing by two points midway through the first half, the Sycamores rattled off seven in a row, including a second-chance bucket by Key with 9:11 on the clock to give ISU a 22-17 lead.
 
Cooper Neese scored on a driving lay-up with 5:01 remaining to push the Sycamore lead up to 32-22 before TSU countered with five in a row to cut the Sycamore lead in half. Key's pair of free throws with 48 seconds to go gave the Sycamores a 40-32 advantage before the Tigers scored with 33 seconds as ISU owned a 40-34 cushion at the break. Key scored 16 of his points in the first 20 minutes.
 
The first Sycamore bucket after halftime came with 18:10 remaining to run the lead back out to 44-34. ISU would score six in a row, capped by a pair of Key charity tosses with 15:38 to go to stretch the lead out to 50-36. A pair of Wesley Harris free throws at the 11:51 mark cut the Sycamore lead down to 54-45, but the Sycamores scored seven in a row, including a Key 3-pointer and a Williams jumper in the paint for the 61-45 cushion with 9:58 remaining.
 
Cam Bacote would find LaRavia with 8:58 on the clock to stretch the lead out to 63-47 but that would be the final Sycamore field goal of the game. With 3:59 remaining, Bacote would hit a pair of free throws to stretch the lead out to 71-58, before Tennessee State scored on consecutive possessions to cut the lead down to eight.
 
Key hit 1-of-2 free throws with 45 seconds remaining to stake the Sycamores to a 74-66 advantage but Michael Littlejohn hit a pair of free throws and after a Sycamore turnover, Littlejohn scored in transition to cut the Sycamore lead down to 74-70 with 25 seconds to go. With nine seconds to go, Key hit two final free throws to cement the 78-72 victory.
 
Off the bench, Emmanuel Egbuta led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds for Tennessee State.
 
Indiana State continues its three-game homestand on Sunday, December 22 when they host Chicago State at 2 pm (ET). The game will feature an in-game tribute to commentate the 30^th anniversary of the Christmas classic National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.