TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – True freshman Robbie Avila made his first collegiate start Sunday afternoon and recorded his first career double-double to help the Sycamores to a 105-68 win over the visiting Trinity Trolls at the Hulman Center.
 
Avila posted a career-high and tied team-high 16 points alongside a career-high and game-high 11 rebounds. Kailex Stephens also put up 16 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting clip from the field beside a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Stephens was just two boards shy of a double-double of his own.
 
Four other Sycamores scored in double-figures including Xavier Bledson (14), Trenton Gibson (13), Julian Larry (13), and Cooper Neese (10).
 
The Sycamores (6-1) conceded the first basket of the game, but Avila responded with a slam dunk to get ISU on the board. Bledson nailed back-to-back triples to give the Sycamores a 12-4 lead at 17:02, and then ISU went off on a 16-0 run to push the lead to 30-8 with 10:07 to go in the opening frame. During that run, the Sycamores were 6-of-7 from the field including 2-of-2 from deep for Zach Hobbs. Trinity was 0-for-5 from the field with three turnovers in that span.
 
Stephens slammed a put-back then laid in a basket to get to double-digits and extend ISU's lead to 47-19 with 2:43 to go in the half, and Avila's layup with four seconds to go put him in double-digits and sent the Sycamores into the break with a 51-24 lead.
 
Indiana State's lead hit a game-high 48 points in the second half on a sequence that started with a Masen Miller triple, included a Larry steal completed by a slam dunk, and ended with Hobbs' third triple of the day, putting the Sycamores up 99-51 with 5:20 on the clock.
 
Rob Martin connected on a pull up jumper at 4:23 to get ISU over 100 on the scoreboard, and after scoring the first basket for the Sycamores in the game, Avila also closed the scoring for ISU with a layup at 1:57.
 
Inside the Numbers

• ISU shot 50.6 percent from the field in the game compared to Trinity's 45.2 percent, but shot just 27.8 percent from three compared to Trinity's 46.7 percent.
• The Sycamores pulled down a season-high 44 rebounds led by Avila's 11 and Stephens' eight.
• ISU dished out 20 assists including four each from Bledson and Avila.
• Indiana State committed just seven turnovers while forcing 21 Trinity turnovers and collecting 13 steals. ISU scored 26 of their points off turnovers.
• The Sycamores outscored the Trolls in the paint, 52-26, and on second-chance opportunities, 19-3.

News & Notes

• True freshman Robbie Avila made his first-career start while Xavier Bledson made his first start of the season and 10th start in a Sycamore uniform.
• Avila officially notched the first double-double of his career with his 10th rebound of the game at 7:42 in the second half.
• Cooper Neese shot 5-of-6 in his last six field goals of the game, and Trenton Gibson was 4-of-5 in his last five field goal attempts in the game.
• Sunday was the second time in five games that the Sycamores posted over 100 points after dropping 101 in a win against North Dakota State Nov. 17.
• The Sycamores are 6-1 so far this season, their best start since 2011-12 when the team also started 6-1. ISU is 4-0 at home.
• Sunday was the first time six Sycamores scored in double-figures since Dec. 29, 2021 in a 107-51 win against Midway.
• ISU had 13 steals in the game for the first time since Jan. 11, 2022 in an 80-74 OT loss at UNI.

Up Next
The Sycamores get their first taste of Missouri Valley Conference play Wednesday, Nov. 30 when they welcome Drake to the Hulman Center for a 7 p.m. tip.
 
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