CARBONDALE, Ill.  – Jordan Barnes never left the game and never left a doubt by leading the Sycamores with 21 points and playing all 40 minutes en route to a thrilling 77-68 victory over Southern Illinois in front of over 5,000 fans inside the Banterra Center.
The Sycamores improved to 17-11, 10-7 MVC with the win and into a fourth place tie in the Missouri Valley standings with Southern Illinois. SIU fell to 17-11, 10-7 MVC. This marked the first time since 2014-15 that the Sycamores have won back-to-back league road games and snapped a four-game skid in Carbondale.
Jordan Barnes was 7-of-10 from the field and hit all six of his free throws down the stretch to finish with 21 points after playing all 40 minutes. Tyreke Key was just behind him with 20 points as he went 9-of-15 from the field and hit a pair of 3-poiners. Jake LaRavia tallied 14 points, hit two big first half 3-pointers and owned five rebounds. Leading the way on the glass was freshman Tre Williams with six caroms as the Sycamores owned the battle of the boards by a 27-24 margin.
The Sycamores shot 57.4 percent from the field and were 6-of-10 from long range in the win. ISU limited the Salukis to just 38.5 percent shooting in the second half and were 12-of-24 after the break, and did not hit a 3-pointer in the second half.
Tied at 63, Christian Williams drove the lane with 5:50 remaining and hit the lay-up to push the Sycamores back ahead by two points. After Williams was whistled for a foul on a near steal away from the basket, Key went over the 20-point mark with a lay-up as the clock ticked under the five minute mark for the 67-65 advantage. The lead grew to four points after the final media timeout when Tre Williams hit another wide open lay-up with just over three minutes to go.
A pair of Jordan Barnes charity tosses with 32.8 seconds to go stretched the Sycamore lead to 75-68 one possession after doing the same. Jake LaRavia sealed the win with a pair of free throws for the 77-68 win.
The Sycamores took their eight-point halftime lead and made it double digits on their opening possession of the second half on a jumper in the paint from Jordan Barnes. Barnes would score again with 15:25 remaining as he took a defensive rebound underneath the Saluki basket and hustled down the court for a lay-up which stretched the lead out to 51-41.
Southern Illinois hit a pair of 3-pointers in a row before Jordan Barnes scrambled at the buzzer once again as the clock ticked towards the 13 minute mark as the Sycamores regained a 53-47 advantage. But SIU answered with a conventional 3-point play from Harwin Francois to get within 53-50 of the Sycamores. SIU would eventually draw within a point, before Cooper Neese used a second-chance opportunity to hit a pull-up jumper with 10:30 remaining as ISU stretched the cushion out to 55-52.
Barnes hit a pair of charity tosses with 9:52 remaining to give the Sycamores a 57-52 advantage. Once again, SIU scored twice in a row to make it a one-point game before Key's baseline jumper with just under nine minute to go gave ISU a 59-56 lead. After SIU countered with bucket, Key found Tre Williams wide-open at the basket with just under eight to go and the Sycamores led it 61-58.
For the third consecutive half of basketball, Jake LaRavia scored the first bucket with a lay-up just 15 seconds in to stake the Sycamores to a quick 2-0 lead. A conventional 3-point play by senior Christian Williams at the 16:51 mark erased a three-point Saluki lead and knotted the contest at 7. With 10:28 to go, the Salukis took their biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes on a pair of Brendon Gooch charity tosses for a 21-14 advantage. But the Sycamores fought back hard and got five points in a row from Tyreke Key, including a 3-pointer to trim the deficit down to just 21-19.
Southern Illinois would mix in a conventional 3-point play of their own, before ISU responded with consecutive buckets to draw within 24-23. With the score knotted at 30, the Sycamores would score eight points in a row, including trifectas by Key and one by LaRavia from deep in the corner as the shot clock buzzer sounded and ISU led 38-30 and forced SIU to burn a timeout.
Bronson Kessinger tallied his fourth 3-pointer of the season with 47 seconds left to give the Sycamores an eight point lead and Tyreke Key rattled home his 14th point of the game to beat the halftime horn as ISU led 45-37 as the two teams headed into the locker room.
Southern Illinois was paced in the game by Barret Benson with 17 points.
Indiana State concludes the regular season on Saturday, February 29 when they host Valparaiso inside Hulman Center on Senior Day. Tip-off is set for 2 pm (ET). ISU will honor seniors Jordan Barnes, Christian Williams and Bronson Kessinger prior to the tip-off plus the traditional speeches after the contest.
