TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Missouri State took advantage of four Indiana State turnovers on Saturday afternoon as the Sycamores fell to the visiting Bears at Memorial Stadium, 24-7.
 
Justin Dinka provided some first half fireworks with a 61-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to spark the ISU (2-9, 1-7 MVFC) offense early. However, the Sycamores coughed up three fumbles and the Bears (5-6, 3-5 MVFC) recorded an interception in strong defensive effort on their way to taking the 2022 season finale.
 
The Sycamores had two drives stall inside the red zone and resulted in a pair of missed field goals as ISU and Missouri State battled the elements at Memorial Stadium. The forecast featured temperatures hovering in the low 30s with gusts of wind that hit up to 35 miles-per-hour and limited both team's passing attacks on the day.
 
Cade Chambers finished 11-of-30 for 117 yards on the day with Dante Hendrix his favorite target on the afternoon. The redshirt senior wide receiver finished with four catches for 45 yards in his final outing in the Sycamore Blue & White. Dinka paced the Sycamores with 73 rushing yards on eight carries with a touchdown, while Tee Hodge finished with eight carries for 26 yards in the loss.
 
Garret Ollendick put together a dominant defensive performance in the final regular season game as the redshirt sophomore had 10 tackles at the half on his way to finishing with a game-high 14 stops. He added a sack and his first interception of the season as ISU limited the Bears' passing offense to just 156 yards through the air.
 
MSU quarterback Jason Shelley was limited on the day in going 10-of-25 through the air for 156 yards and an interception. He was also sacked three times by the Sycamores with Gianini Belizaire, Ollendieck, and Brown all recording QB takedowns in the contest. Kevon Latulas paced the MSU rushing attack with nine carries for 100 yards and a score, while Jacardia Wright added 85 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win.
 
Defensively, Von Young led the Bears with 11 tackles in the game, while Kyriq McDonald added an interception in the win.
 
How They Scored

• Jacardia Wright put Missouri State on the board with 0:13 left in the first quarter as the MSU running back took the handoff up the middle from one-yard out to put the Bears ahead 7-0. The touchdown capped a seven-play, 80-yard drive highlighted by a Kevon Latulas 43-yard carry.
• Justin Dinka evened the score at 7-7 on the first play of the second quarter as the redshirt sophomore broke a Missouri State tackle around the MSU 40 on his way to a 61-yard touchdown run. The scoring play ended a two-play, 64-yard drive to tie the game up with 14:50 to play in the first half.
• Jose Pizano put the Bears ahead 10-7 with 4:48 remaining in the second quarter as the MSU kicker's 44-yard field goal capped an eight-play, 41-yard scoring drive.
• Wright added to the Missouri State lead with 9:24 remaining in the fourth quarter as the Bears' running back scored from five yards out to give MSU the 17-7 lead. The score capped a 12-play, 72-yard drive that spanned 6:53.
• Missouri State added a late touchdown with 4:21 remaining in the fourth quarter as Kevon Latulas took the ball one yard up the middle to put the Bears ahead 24-7. Latulas' touchdown plunge capped off a two-play, 26-yard drive that was highlighted by a his own 25-yard carry on the first play. 

Inside the Numbers

• Indiana State finished the contest with 283 total offensive yards (148 rushing) in the final game of the 2022 regular season.
• The Sycamores posted 11 first downs and held onto the ball for 26:04 in the game.
• ISU converted on 5-of-14 third downs in the game.
• Missouri State finished with 403 total offensive yards (247 rushing) and held onto the ball for 33:56 in the game.
• The Bears held possession for 10:10 in the fourth quarter on their way to posting 21 total first downs.
• Converting in the red zone was a big factor on Saturday with the Bears successful on 3-of-4 trips, while the Sycamores went 0-for-2. 

News & Notes

• Dante Hendrix wrapped up his playing career with an ISU record 37-game receiving streak dating back to the third game of the 2018 season.
• Hendrix wrapped up his career with 190 career receptions moving him into 13th all-time in the MVFC career standings behind Illinois State's Laurent Robinson (192, 2006-06).
• Hendrix also finished with 2,500 career receiving yards that put him first in the ISU all-time annals and 17th in Valley history.
• Indiana State recognized their 16 2022 seniors in a pregame ceremony at Memorial Stadium. Included in the group were a trio of Sycamores who were a part of Coach Mallory's first recruiting class at ISU (Jackson Byrne, Dante Hendrix, Kris Reid Jr.).
• Geoffrey Brown posted his fifth career double-digit tackling effort with 11 tackles on Saturday afternoon.
• Brown and Rylan Cole both finished the year with a team-best 84 total tackles.
• Gianini Belizaire finished the 2022 season with a team-best 8.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.0 sacks as the redshirt sophomore posted one of each in the 2022 season finale.
• Garret Ollendieck's 14 tackles were a career-high for the redshirt sophomore.
• Justin Dinka's 895 total rushing yards in 2022 marked the most by an ISU running back since the 2018 season when Ja'Quan Keys rushed for 948 yards and 13 touchdowns over a seven-game span.
• Dinka also boasted four rushing touchdowns of 50-plus yards in 2022 with a 61-yard touchdown carry in Saturday's loss against the Bears. 

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