TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The second-half woes continued for the Indiana State Sycamores Wednesday night as they led by five at halftime before being outscored by 16 in the second half en route to dropping their third straight game, falling 78-67 to Bradley at Hulman Center.
 
Indiana State (13-7, 6-3 MVC) held Bradley (13-7, 6-3 MVC) to one field goal through 7:22 in the first half while going on a 16-2 run in that span and led the Braves by 10 points with just under four minutes to go in the opening frame. After the Sycamores led 39-34 at halftime, the Braves used a 12-0 run in the second half to help outscore ISU 44-28 in the period.
 
Courvoisier McCauley led the Sycamores with 12 points and eight rebounds, and Cameron Henry put up 11 points and seven rebounds while dishing out a new career-high nine assists. Each of them would receive a technical foul in the game, with Henry's coming at 0:25 in the first half followed by McCauley's at 14:39 in the second half.
 
The Sycamores jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first minute of the game, but Bradley responded with back-to-back threes, and ISU trailed 13-8 at 16:21 when both teams went cold from the floor. Cade McKnight broke the field goal drought for the Sycamores with a layup at 13:21, but Bradley's scoring drought continued as the Sycamores went on an 8-0 run including six points from McKnight in that span. ISU led 16-13 when Bradley finally capped its scoring drought with 10:44 left in the first half.
 
Indiana State went on another 8-0 run that featured a steal and dunk from Henry, and Henry later took advantage of a Bradley turnover, driving all the way in for a layup while drawing a foul in the process. He completed the and-one to put the Sycamores up by 10 at 36-26 with 3:57 to go. Jayson Kent knocked down a triple at 2:41 to give the Sycamores a 39-30 lead, and Bradley closed the half with four free throws to make it 39-34 going into halftime.
 
Bradley got a couple quick buckets back in the second half to cut the deficit to one point, and then Indiana State went on a 9-2 run to go up 48-40 at 15:15. After that, a Sycamore tech triggered a 12-0 Bradley run which the Braves used to take a 52-48 lead at 12:15. A three-point and-one from Kailex Stephens would pull the Sycamores within one point of Bradley at 9:56, but that's as close as Indiana State would come to retaking the lead the rest of the way.
 
Inside the Numbers

• The Sycamores were just 1-of-10 in their first 10 3-point attempts. They finished the night 4-of-20 beyond the arc, marking the least amount of 3-pointers made in a game all season.
• Indiana State shot 37.9 percent from the field while Bradley shot 46.7 percent.
• ISU pulled down 33 boards compared to Bradley's 41.
• The Sycamores were 19-of-24 from the charity stripe while Bradley was 17-of-23 at the line.
• Tonight was the second-straight game in which the Sycamores committed fewer turnovers than their opponent. They committed 11 while Bradley committed 12.

News & Notes

• Tonight's 11-point loss is Indiana State's largest margin of defeat this season.
• For the first time all season, Indiana State is a full game outside of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings.
• Kailex Stephens made his first appearance since Jan. 4 at Illinois State and finished with three points in just under eight minutes of action.
• Jayson Kent faced his former team for first time tonight, as he transferred to ISU after two seasons at Bradley. He was one of three Sycamores in double-figures with 11 points alongside four rebounds, an assist, and a block.
• Cameron Henry's nine assists tonight surpassed his previous career-high of eight.
• The Sycamores have now given up a double-digit lead six times this season. They recovered to win two of those games but have dropped the last four games in which they blew a double-digit lead. Tonight was the second time that has happened against a Valley opponent, both occurring at home, after giving up a double-digit lead to lose to Southern Illinois Jan. 11.
• Indiana State has been outscored in the second half 11 times this season, with nine of those occurrences happening after holding the lead at halftime. The Sycamores have lost three games this season in which they led at halftime and were outscored in the second half.
• Tonight's loss marks the second three-game skid of the year for ISU. After the first three-game losing streak earlier this season, the Sycamores bounced back to win their next four straight.

 
Up Next
The Sycamores are set for back-to-back nationally televised road games beginning with a trip to Murray State Saturday, Jan. 21 for a 6 p.m. ET tip on ESPNU. After that, Indiana State travels to Drake Tuesday, Jan. 24 for a 9 p.m. ET tip on CBS Sports Network.
 
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.
 
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