Skip To Main Content

Indiana State University Athletics

team
86
Indiana St. INS 9-3,2-0 MVC
92
Winner Duquesne DU 9-3,0-0 Atlantic 10
Indiana St. INS
9-3,2-0 MVC
86
Final
92
Duquesne DU
9-3,0-0 Atlantic 10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Indiana St. INS 36 50 86
Duquesne DU 37 55 92

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

Neese returns and scores season-high as Sycamores fall to Duquesne on the road

PITTSBURGH, Pa. –  The Sycamores got off to a hot start Saturday afternoon at Duquesne as they opened up the game with a 20-4 run, but that unfortunately would not last as Indiana State (9-3, 2-0 MVC) fell to the Dukes (9-3, 0-0 A-10), 92-86.
 
Cooper Neese played in his first game since Nov. 30, making the start for the Sycamores and scoring a season-high 19 points, which tied the game-high alongside former Sycamore Tre Williams.
 
Cameron Henry scored first in the game to get the Sycamores on the board and then sparked a 10-0 ISU run with a 3-pointer, and that run was capped by a Sycamore steal that led to a Courvoisier McCauley triple for a 12-2 lead at 14:41 in the first.
 
Indiana State's lead reached a game-high 16 points at 20-4 with 12:19 left in the opening frame, and the Sycamores led 21-9 at the under-12 media timeout. Up to that point, ISU was holding Duquesne to 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from the field.
 
Duquesne later went on a 7-0 run to take a 37-34 lead with 36 seconds to go in the first half, but Xavier Bledson got a layup back for the Sycamores with 26 seconds on the clock and ISU trailed by just one point at 37-36 going into halftime.
 
The Dukes pushed their lead to 41-36 in the first minute of the second half, but then ISU hit three straight layups to retake the lead, 42-41, at 17:26.
 
Zach Hobbs checked into the game for McCauley who was battling some foul trouble, and he drilled back-to-back triples to give the Sycamores a 54-48 lead at 14:43. Kailex Stephens pushed that lead to 71-64 on a layup from Julian Larry at 7:58, but after that, the Sycamores would enter a scoring drought.
 
The Dukes outscored ISU 24-8 in a 6:26 span from 7:05 to 0:39 to take an 88-79 lead. That span featured a 10-0 run for Duquesne, and the Sycamores were 3-for-13 and 0-for-3 from three during that span.
 
ISU showed some life late in the game, outscoring Duquesne 7-4 in the last 32 seconds, but it was not enough to fully overcome the deficit.
 
Inside the Numbers
  • ISU shot 50 percent from the field after shooting an even 50 percent in both the first and second half.
  • The Sycamores outshot Duquesne 50 percent (13-of-26) to 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from the field in the first half including six triples compared to Duquesne's three, but the Dukes shot 62.1 percent (18-of-29) with six threes compared to ISU's 50 percent on 18-of-36 shooting including three triples in the second half.
  • Duquesne wound up outshooting ISU from the field (51.7% to 50.0%), beyond the arc (40.9% to 36.0%), and from the charity stripe (88.5% to 75.0%) in the game.
  • ISU outrebounded the Dukes 33-30 including 12-8 on the offensive end.
  • There were three ties and seven lead changes in the game. After leading 73-72 at 5:02 in the second, ISU wouldn't gain another lead in the game.
  • The Sycamores committed 18 turnovers in the game and Duquesne was able to score 21 points off those turnovers while ISU turned 15 Duquesne turnovers into 23 points. 
News & Notes
  • After previously not trailing at the half all season, this was ISU's second consecutive game trailing at the half, and consequently its second consecutive loss.
  • Cooper Neese returned to action for the Sycamores for the first time since suffering an injury Nov. 30 in the first half against Drake. He started the game and dropped a season-high and team-high 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. He also had five rebounds and three assists.
  • Cameron Henry posted his sixth straight double-digit scoring game with 16 points alongside four rebounds and three assists.
  • Courvoisier McCauley and Julian Larry each posted 10 points. It was McCauley's fifth consecutive double-digit scoring game and Larry's first double-digit game against a Division I opponent this season.
  • The Sycamores have still yet to trail by double digits this season, the only Valley team to do so. 
Up Next
The Sycamores return to the Hulman Center Dec. 22 for the first time since Nov. 30 in their final game before the Christmas holiday. Tip-off against Northern Illinois is set for 7 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.
 
- #MarchOn -
 
Print Friendly Version