TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State men's basketball returned home for the first time in nearly a month Thursday afternoon and closed out non-conference action with the team's third straight loss, falling 67-57 to Northern Illinois at the Hulman Center in ISU's last game before the holiday break.
 
The Sycamores opened the game with back-to-back threes for an early 6-0, lead but the Huskies answered with four straight buckets for an 8-6 lead at 16:41. Indiana State's first four baskets in the game were each beyond the arc as the Sycamores connected on four of their first five attempts, and ISU would lead 18-17 with 9:03 left in the first half before allowing a double-digit NIU run and never leading again in the game.
 
Indiana State entered a scoring drought spanning 7:12, and during that time NIU went off on a 15-0 run to take a 30-18 lead with 3:59 to go in the opening frame. The Sycamores were 0-for-6 including 0-for-4 from three with six turnovers in that span.
 
Jayson Kent hit a floating jumper with five seconds on the clock and then Cameron Henry snagged NIU's inbound pass for a buzzer-beating bucket, and ISU trailed 35-29 at the half.
 
The Huskies pushed their lead out to 44-33 through the first three minutes of the second half, but ISU was able to cut its deficit down to single digits at 13:29 on a Zach Hobbs triple and Kailex Stephens layup that made it 48-39. Julian Larry later assisted a Courvoisier McCauley triple and laid in a basket of his own to get it back to a single-digit deficit for the Sycamores.
 
McCauley sparked a late 9-0 Sycamore run with back-to-back layups followed by a steal by Henry to set himself up for a triple, and Cooper Neese knocked down a free throw to cap the run and pull ISU within five points of NIU at 60-55 with 1:29 to go in the game.
 
Larry dished out his fifth assist of the game to set Kent up for a layup with 33 seconds on the clock, but the Huskies closed out the game with four free throws in the last 28 seconds.
 
Inside the Numbers

• The Sycamores shot a season-low 35.0 percent including a season-low 22.9 percent from three.
• ISU committed just 10 personal fouls in the game which is a season-low against Division I teams this year. The Sycamores had seven against NAIA-member Trinity Christian earlier this season.
• The Sycamores were outrebounded 38-36 and committed 14 turnovers compared to NIU's 11.

News & Notes

• When the Northern Illinois lead hit 28-18 at 4:21 in the first, that marked the first time ISU has trailed by double-figures all season this season. NIU led by a game-high 14 points midway through the second half.
• NIU's 15-0 run in the first half is the largest run the Sycamores have allowed by an opponent this season.
• Entering Thursday's game, Indiana State was 5-0 at home this season, and this marks ISU's first home loss since Feb. 23, 2022.
• Courvoisier led all Sycamoes scorers in the game with 21 points, his fifth game scoring 20 or more points this season. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds with three steals and two assists.
• Cooper Neese was the only other Sycamore to score in double figures with 10 points alongside four rebounds and two assists.
• Julian Larry's five assists tied his season-high previously set against Green Bay in the season opener.
• Thursday is ISU's first time scoring less than 60 points since the team's Valley Tournament loss against Illinois State on March 3, 2022.

Up Next
The Sycamores are right back at home after the Christmas holiday Thursday, Dec. 29 to host Evansville in Valley play. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET at Hulman Center.
 
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