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Indiana State University Athletics

Henry
81
Drexel Drexel 3-3,0-0 CAA
85
Winner Indiana St. INS 5-1,0-0 MVC
Drexel Drexel
3-3,0-0 CAA
81
Final
85
Indiana St. INS
5-1,0-0 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Drexel Drexel 35 46 81
Indiana St. INS 40 45 85

Game Recap: Basketball | | Codie Kunstmann | GoSycamores.com

Henry, Bledson Lead Sycamores to Victory in Gulf Coast Showcase Finale

ESTERO, Fla. – Cameron Henry and Xavier Bledson combined for 44 points Wednesday evening as the Sycamores bounced back and defeated Drexel, 85-81, at Hertz Arena to take third place in the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase with a 2-1 record in the tournament.
 
Henry posted his first double-double of the year with a season-high 22 points and team-high 10 boards while Bledson posted a Division I career-high 22 points off the bench.
 
Freshman Robbie Avila played over 25 minutes and shot 4-of-5 from the field with three triples for a career-high 11 points.
 
The first half of the game saw 11 lead changes, but after the and-1 from Henry at 5:30 in the opening frame, the Sycamores (5-1) would never trail again.
 
With Indiana State down 16-14 at the first media timeout, Bledson checked in and immediately started lighting it up. He drew a foul on a hookshot with 7:11 to go and knocked down his free throw to give the Sycamores a 27-26 lead. He hit another bucket less than a minute later and then sent a no-look, behind-the-head pass to Henry who was coming in from the back door and Henry laid it up while drawing a foul to help get the lead back for ISU, 32-30, with 5:30 left in the half.
 
Avila drilled his second triple of the night at 1:52 to push ISU's lead to 37-32, and Bledson let one fly from deep at the buzzer to send the Sycamores into the break up 40-35.
 
The Sycamores came out firing in the second half and made their first four attempts of the frame including a pair of triples. Avila swiped a pass to set Henry up for a layup in the first minute before knocking down his third three of the night to put the Sycamores up by eight points at 45-37 with 18:35 left.
 
Drexel came back within five points of ISU but Bledson answered with another and-1 to get the lead back to eight, and then Cooper Neese knocked down his first three of the game at 12:00 to make it 62-54 Sycamores. The Dragons threatened again, cutting their deficit to three points at 7:51, but ISU countered that with a three-point play off an and-1 for Henry followed by a huge triple from Trenton Gibson at 6:12 to put the Sycamores up 70-63.
 
Henry gave the Sycamores their largest lead of the night at 2:59 when he swiped a pass and laid up the transition basket for the 81-71 lead, and Gibson knocked down a pair of crucial free throws with 18 seconds on the clock to make it 85-75 and give some leeway for a pair of Drexel threes in the last five seconds.
 
Inside the Numbers
  • Indiana State started off 0-for-6 from three in the game and did not hit a triple until 7:47 in the first half. ISU then shot 3-of-4 the rest of the half with a pair of treys from Robbie Avila.
  • The Sycamores outshot the Dragons 55.2 percent to 52.6 percent from the field, but the Dragons shot 52.4 percent from three compared to ISU's 30.4 percent.
  • ISU won the battle on the boards, outrebounding Drexel 33-27.
  • All five of Drexel's starters scored in double figures, and ISU's bench proved to be the difference behind Bledson's 22 points and Avila's 11.
  • The Sycamores dished out 15 assists and committed just 11 turnovers.
News & Notes
  • The Sycamores improved to 37-43 in MTE's in the DI era Wednesday night.
  • Cameron Henry's double-double was his first of the season and fourth in a Sycamore uniform. He shot 9-of-12 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe alongside a season-high and team-high six assists.
  • Xavier Bledson was 5-for-5 from the free throw line and 8-of-14 from the field for his career-high 22 points.
  • Wednesday was the first time ISU had two players score 20 or more points in a game since February 17, 2021 against Evansville.
  • Robbie Avila was 3-of-4 beyond the arc for a career-high 11 points alongside a career-high four rebounds.
  • Bledson was named to the All-Tournament as he led the Sycamores in scoring and averaged 15.7 points through all three games. He also averaged 3.0 rebound per game and dished out six assists with two steals.
Up Next
The Sycamores return home to host Trinity Christian Sunday, Nov. 27 at the Hulman Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Men's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
 
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