NORMAL, Ill.  – Cold shooting spoiled another good Sycamore defensive effort as Indiana State fell to Illinois State by the score of 74-67 in front of 5,365 fans inside Redbird Arena.
 
The Sycamores saw their four-game Missouri Valley Conference winning streak end as they fell to 14-9, 7-5 MVC while Illinois State improved to 8-16, 3-9 MVC.
 
Jordan Barnes led the Sycamores with 21 points as he went 13-of-14 from the free throw line. Barnes tied career highs for both free throws made and attempted. Bronson Kessinger provided a spark off the bench with 10 points.
 
Indiana State fell victim to cold shooting in the contest as they hit just 19-of-54 from the field (35.2 percent) and were 5-of-20 from 3-point range (25.0 percent)
 
Jake LaRavia started the game with a steal and fast break lay-up to stake the Sycamores to an early 2-0 lead, but they would miss their next three shots and fell behind 7-2 at the first media timeout. The drought ended when Jordan Barnes drove the lane and dumped off to Bronson Kessinger for a lay-up as the clock ticked under the 15 minute mark to cut the deficit to three.
 
The Sycamores took advantage of a clear path foul whistled on the Redbirds to convert a four-play with Tyreke Key's free throw and a corner trifecta by Cobie Barnes with just under nine to go to trim the Redbird lead down to 14-12.
 
Coming out of a timeout, Jordan Barnes answered a 10-0 Redbird run with his first 3-pointer of the game to trim their advantage down to 24-15 with just over four minutes left in the opening 20 minutes. A hook shot by Tre Williams with 1:14 remaining in the first got the Sycamores within nine points and a turnaround jumper from Key with 49 seconds left got ISU within 30-23. But Zach Copeland scored with 28 seconds left and the Sycamores came up empty on the final possession as the Redbirds led 32-23 at the break.
 
After a couple of empty possessions for both teams to open the second half, Tre Williams found himself open in the paint for a lay-up which cut the Redbird lead down to 32-25. The Sycamores paraded to the free throw line in the second half but got a nice driving lay-up from Kessinger with just over 12 minutes remaining to get within 46-32. Though not officially credited with an offensive rebound, De'Avion Washington tipped a contested rebound out to Jordan Barnes who found Kessinger at the basket for a lay-up which made it a 6-0 Sycamore run an got Indiana State within 46-38 with just over eight minutes remaining.
 
Key hit a 3-pointer with 2:38 remaining to cut into the Redbird lead and make it 59-47. Jordan Barnes went over the 20-point mark with 53.8 seconds remaining as he drained a 3-pointer in transition which got the Sycamores within 69-60.
 
Illinois State was led in scoring by Jaycee Hillsman with 23 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Sycamores conclude their two-game road swing through the state of Illinois on Wednesday, February 12 at Bradley. The game tips off at 8 p.m. (ET) from Carver Arena and will be televised on the Missouri Valley Conference Television Network, including Fox Sports Midwest, Indiana and Kansas City as well as ESPN+.