VALPARAISO, Ind.  – Indiana State burst out to an early lead, withstood a Valparaiso response and battled back to take a late lead but a late rally by Valparaiso proved to be too much as they earned an 86-77 win over the visiting Sycamores.
 
Indiana State fell to 10-7, 3-3 MVC while Valpo improved to 10-9, 3-3 MVC.
 
Tyreke Key and Jordan Barnes each topped the 20-point mark in the contest as Key owned 27 and Barnes tallied 21. Jake LaRavia was also in double figures with 11 points. The Sycamores hit 47.6 percent of their shots from the field, including a total of nine 3-pointers. Key was 10-of-15 from the field and hit a career-best five 3-pointers.
 
Tied up at 62 and out of the under eight-minute timeout, Key went over the 20-point mark with a driving lay-up to push the Sycamores ahead 64-62. John Kiser broke a scoreless string for the Sycamores with just over five minutes to go with his second 3-pointer of the game which pushed the Crusaders ahead 65-64. Valpo would score eight in a row before Key connected on his fifth 3-pointer of the game to trim the Crusader lead down to 70-67 with just under four minutes remaining.
 
The Sycamores climbed back in the game late with a 3-pointer and a lay-up from Jordan Barnes in the final minute which cut the Valpo lead down to 79-76 with 14.9 seconds left. The Crusaders hit both of their free throws to stretch the advantage back out to five points before Key was fouled with 9.6 seconds left.
 
Indiana State led by three at the half, before Valparaiso cut it to one on their opening possession and then after a Tre Williams offensive rebound, Cooper Neese connected on a 3-pointer as the clock ticked towards the 19 minute mark to put the Sycamores ahead 38-34. Valparaiso gained their first lead in the game with 17:40 remaining on a 3-pointer by Eron Gordon for the 42-41 lead. Key would knot the contest at 44 one minute later with his third 3-pointer of the game.
 
After the Crusaders scored four in a row themselves, a Christian Williams free throw preceded a Jordan Barnes 3-pointer as the clock ticked towards the 13 minute mark to level the score at 48. Valpo would go on to score four straight against before the freshman connection of Jake LaRavia to Tre Williams happened again in the paint to cut the Crusader lead down to just 52-50. After the Crusaders stretched their lead out to six points, Jordan Barnes scored inside with 10:59 remaining which got the Sycamores within 56-52.
 
Valpo continued to find success inside but Key countered with his fourth 3-pointer of the game as the game approached the 10 minute mark which cut the lead down to just three points. After a defensive stop, Cobie Barnes laid the ball through the bucket and Valpo found themselves up just 58-57. After a pair of free throws from Javon Freeman, Jake LaRavia answered with lay-up and foul with 8:37 remaining which knotted the score at 60. ISU would regain the lead off the long rebound and outlet pass to Christian Williams who found LaRavia waiting at the basket with just over eight minutes to go which knotted the contest at 62.
 
Tre Williams opened the scoring for the Sycamores just 15 seconds in with a conventional 3-point play and then Jordan Barnes connected on a trifecta from the corner to stretch the lead out to 6-0. Tre Williams would grab an offensive rebound as the clock ticked towards the 16 minute mark and Jordan Barnes drove in for a lay-up to stake Indiana State to a 10-2 advantage.
 
John Kiser would trim the Sycamore lead down to just three points before Christian Williams grabbed a loose ball second chance rebound and passed out to Tyreke Key for a wide open 3-pointer with 11:51 to go which gave Indiana State the 19-13 advantage.
 
With just over six minutes on the clock, the Sycamores used a Key 3-pointer and a pair of Jake LaRavia free throws to stretch the cushion out to 32-21. The Sycamores got 1-of-2 free throws by Key with 53 seconds left to take a 35-30 lead before Eron Gordon converted a lay-up with 39 seconds on the coock as the Sycamores led 35-32 at the break. ISU missed their last 10 field goal attempts of the first half.
 
Valpo was led in scoring by Javon Freeman-Liberty who scored 23 points.
 
The Sycamores return to the Valley road on Wednesday, January 22 as they travel to Loyola Chicago. Tip-off from the Gentile Center is set for 8 pm (ET) and will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN+.