TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State returns to Valley action Thursday night when the Sycamores welcome the Evansville Aces to Hulman Center for an 8 p.m. tip-off in ISU's last game of the 2022 calendar year. In conjunction with the Sycamore women's basketball game at 4 p.m., Thursday is Local Heroes Day and there will be a US Army National Guard enlistment ceremony at halftime of the men's game.
 
The Sycamores are carrying a small losing skid into Thursday's game as ISU dropped its last three games going into the Christmas break. The Sycamores fell to Southern Indiana and Duquesne on the road before most recently losing to Northern Illinois at home.
 
On Thursday 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, and 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.
 
After being picked to finish seventh in the Valley preseason poll, the Sycamores have started out league play 2-0 after defeating two of the top three teams in the preseason poll including Drake at home and Southern Illinois on the road.
 
After missing three games due to injury, Cooper Neese has returned to play and is averaging 14.5 points per game alongside 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Indiana State leads the all-time series 99-83 dating back to 1921. The Sycamores are 62-27 against Evansville at home and will be looking for their 100th all-time win against the Aces.
 
ISU split the season series with Evansville last year, falling 56-65 at home Feb. 8, 2022 before rebounding with an 80-77 win in double overtime in Evansville Feb. 10, 2022.

LAST GAME AGAINST THE ACES
Cooper Neese scored a career high 35 points as Indiana State basketball edged Evansville on the road in a double overtime victory Feb. 10, 2022 at the Ford Center. Neese's five triples also pushed the sharpshooter into fifth in program history with 162 career threes, passing Eddie Bird (1987-91) on the list.
 
Neese scored 12 of ISU's 26 points to lead the Sycamores in the first half while Cameron Henry tallied eight points and five rebounds in 13 minutes of action. Three Purple Aces scored eight points in the opening frame and each were responsible for three separate 8-0 runs for UE.
 
Neese scored nine of his 35 points in the second overtime, including the first five points of the period. The Cloverdale, Indiana native put ISU ahead 78-76 with 10 seconds left. The Aces would draw a foul but miss the first free throw. Neese closed out the game at the charity stripe.

EVANSVILLE AT A GLANCE
The Aces were picked to finish 12th of 12 teams in the Valley preseason poll and are 0-2 in league play this year with losses to Southern Illinois and UNI.
 
The Aces are coming off a 73-61 win against Bellarmine on December 21 at the Ford Center. With the Knights holding a 51-50 lead with 6:28 remaining, Evansville took control to pick up their fourth win of the season. After being held scoreless in the first half, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. erupted for 22 in the second half to lead all players. Yacine Toumi recorded his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Gage Bobe wrapped up the game with a career-best 12 points.
 
Strawbridge Jr. paces all Evansville scorers with 16.2 points per game this season alongside 2.7 assists per game. Toumi is pulling down 5.6 boards per game.

LAST TIME OUT
Indiana State suffered its first home loss of the season this past Thursday, losing to Northern Illinois 67-57 at Hulman Center. In the first half, 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.
 
Courvoisier 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. Julian Larry dished out his fifth assist of the game to set Jayson 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.
 
Courvoisier McCauley led all Sycamores 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.

FOLLOW THE SYCAMORES
For the latest information on Sycamore Basketball, be sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. 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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