TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Five different Sycamores scored in double figures Saturday afternoon as Indiana State got back on track with a 79-71 win over Northern Iowa at Hulman Center in front of a loud home crowd that included men's basketball alumni dating back to 1948.
 
In a game that saw 10 lead changes and six ties, the Sycamores led by just two points at 70-68 with just 2:00 to go in the second half. Indiana State took advantage of late free throws, shooting 6-of-6 at the line down the stretch with four straight stops to end the game.
 
Xavier Bledson led the Sycamores in scoring off the bench with 20 points while Cameron Henry posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Cooper Neese and Zach Hobbs added 14 points each while Robbie Avila posted 10 points.
 
The Panthers reached a game-high 18-10 lead with 11:51 to go in the first, but Bledson checked in with an immediate impact and assisted two straight Sycamore buckets before hitting his second triple of the day to cut ISU's deficit to 22-18 at 10:00.
 
Henry laid up a basket and then hit two free throws to retake the lead for ISU at 30-19 with 5:04 remaining in the opening frame, and back-to-back buckets from Neese put the Sycamores up 37-31 at 2:45. UNI closed out the first half with a 6-0 run including a last-second dunk to even things up at 39-all going into the break.
 
Neese opened the second half with a triple and Courvoisier McCauley put his name on the scoresheet with a trey at 16:25 to tie things back up at 46-46. Hobbs nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the game before a Henry slam dunk put the Sycamores up 64-60 with 7:39 to go.
 
With ISU leading by just two points at 70-68 with two minutes left, Bledson drew an and-one and completed the three-point play to push the lead to 73-68. The Sycamores hit all six free throws in the last 18 seconds of action to cushion the win.
 
Inside the Numbers

• The Sycamores shot 47.1 percent from the field, but were 11-of-26 from three (42.3 percent) which is just the third time this season ISU has shot 42 percent or better beyond the arc, and the first time since shooting 47 percent at Miami (Ohio) Dec. 3.
• Indiana State outrebounded UNI 33-25 and improved to 10-1 when outrebounding its opponent.
• ISU dished out 16 assists in the game led by Cameron Henry and Xavier Bledson with four apiece.

News & Notes

• Saturday was the first time five Sycamores have scored in double figures since Jan. 7 against UIC.
• Before Saturday's game, ISU was 0-6 when tied or trailing at the half. After being tied 39-39 at halftime today, the Sycamores are now 1-6 when being tied or trailing at the half.
• With his 10th rebound at 9:42 in the second half, Cameron Henry notched his third double-double of the season and first since Dec. 7 against Southern Illinois. His 12 rebounds tie a season-high while his 14 points mark his 12th double-digit scoring game of the season.
• Xavier Bledson came off the bench to play a season-high 31:11 and tied the game-high of 20 points for his second 20+-point effort of the year.
• Zach Hobbs shot 4-of-5 from three for a season-high 14 points.

Up Next
The Sycamores head to Evansville for a midweek matchup against the Aces Wednesday, Feb. 1. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET as Indiana State will be looking for the season sweep against Evansville after defeating the Aces at home, 91-63, back on Dec. 29, 2022.
 
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