EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Cooper Neese scored a career high 35 points as Indiana State basketball edged Evansville on the road in a double overtime victory Thursday night 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.
 
The win ended a four-game losing streak and evened the season series with the Purple Aces. It also marked the third overtime game of the season for the Sycamores and the second double overtime contest.
 
It was a first half of scoring runs between Indiana State and Evansville. After a hot start to the game, the Sycamores (10-14, 3-9 MVC) led 15-6 at the under-12 media timeout before Evansville reeled off a 17-1 run over a seven-minute span to take their first lead of the game. Micah Thomas ended what was a nearly six-minute field goal drought for ISU with a layup to make it 25-18 in favor of the Aces. The Sycamores snapped out of their funk and scored the final eight points of the half to take a 26-25 into the locker room.
 
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.
 
ISU scored seven of the first nine points in the second half to take a six-point lead with five of the nine coming from Henry. Seven points was the largest lead of the second half for ISU after Xavier Bledson scored a post basket with 14 minutes left in regulation.
 
The Aces rallied to regain the lead with a 12-5 run of their own with Blake Sisley scoring five and Beauchamp converting a four-point play. The Sycamores had to rally from down four with under five minutes to play as Neese hit his third triple of the game to pull the Sycamores to within one point at 54-53.
 
Neese gave the Sycamores a 58-56 lead with his fourth triple at the two-minute mark. The Aces would score the next four points when Shamar Givance hit one of his free throws before Beauchamp nailed a three to give UE the lead. Cameron Henry tied the game with 46 seconds with a pair of free throws.
 
Kailex Stephens picked up a block on UE's shot to go ahead and gave ISU a chance at the last shot. After a timeout, ISU looked to take the final shot and Neese's look at the buzzer rattled out to send the game into overtime.
 
ISU went up five points in the first overtime in 90 seconds following a Stephens three and a pair of free throws from Henry. Trailing by three with 35 seconds, UE would hit a free throw before corralling a missed shot and tie the game with a dunk.
 
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's (6-17, 2-10 MVC) Blaise Beauchamp more than doubled his previous career high of 14 points, scoring a team high 29 points for the Aces. The guard shot 6-for-10 from deep and kept the Aces in the game throughout.
 
Evansville went strong to the basket and benefitted from a pair of fouled 3-point shots to attempt 32 free throws in the game. ISU committed 26 fouls while the Aces were whistled for 18 over 50 minutes. UE was 21-for-32 from the free throw line while the Sycamores shot 17-for-22 from the charity stripe.
 
UP NEXT
Indiana State will play host to Illinois State on Saturday, February 12. The Sycamores and Redbirds will tip at 1 p.m. ET from Hulman Center. The game will air on ESPN3.
 
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