NORMAL, Ill. – Indiana State was without its leading scorer Wednesday night, but that did not matter as the Sycamores defeated Illinois State, 76-67, for their fifth straight Valley win and second straight Valley win on the road. The Sycamores remain perfect in Valley play so far this season at 5-0.
 
After finding out Courvoisier McCauley was unavailable due to illness right before tip-off, several Sycamores stepped up in his absence as Julian Larry and Cameron Henry were part of four Sycamores in double figures with 18 points each.
 
The Sycamores (12-4, 5-0 MVC) did not trail the Redbirds (6-10, 1-4 MVC) at any point in the game, though it got close at the end. Indiana State led by as many as 21 points in the first half, but Illinois State cut its deficit to just five points with 35 seconds to go in the second half. Indiana State got a couple crucial stops and took advantage of a pair of late trips to the line, hitting four free throws in the last half minute of the game to help secure the win.
 
Henry opened the scoring in the game before Larry drilled an early triple to spark an 11-0 run for the Sycamores, and Indiana State led 13-2 by the end of that run at 15:23 in the first half. Henry reached double figures shortly after with back-to-back steals that each turned into layups, and the Sycamore lead reached 22-7 with 12:34 to go in the opening frame.
 
Jayson Kent pushed Indiana State's lead to 18 points with a layup at 6:20 that made it 36-18, and he later nailed his second triple of the night to reach double figures and give the Sycamores their largest lead of the night at 21 points as Indiana State held a 43-22 advantage with 3:33 to go in the first half. The Sycamores led 47-29 going into the halftime break.
 
The Sycamores and Redbirds exchanged a few baskets to open the second half, and Illinois State hit two straight to trim Indiana State's lead to just 14 at 13:50. Trenton Gibson drilled a three ball to get the lead back to 18 at 59-41 with 11:46 to go, and Robbie Avila beat the shot clock with a triple to get into double digits at 8:03.
 
Indiana State led by 14 on a pair of Cooper Neese free throws at 5:28, but after that, Illinois state went on an 8-0 run spanning nearly four minutes to chip away and cut its deficit to six points at 1:15. Neese hit another pair of free throws, but the Redbirds countered that with two free throws of their own and once again trailed by six with 55 seconds to go. After that, the Sycamores committed a turnover and Illinois State missed a jumper off that possession before the ball went out of bounds. It was called Illinois State ball and the play would go to review, but the ball would stay with the Redbirds coming out of the review. Illinois State then drew a shooting foul and missed the first free throw before making the second one to trail by just five points at 72-67 with 35 seconds to go.
 
Gibson took a trip to the line and hit both free throws to get the lead back to seven, and Masen Miller would then check in and force a crucial stop for the Sycamores by knocking a defensive rebound into Neese's possession with 13 seconds left. Larry closed things out with a pair of free throws in the last 11 seconds.
 
Inside the Numbers

• The Sycamores outshot the Redbirds 60.0 percent to 42.4 percent in the game, and it was the first time Indiana State has shot 60 percent or better in a game since Nov. 28, 2018 at San Jose State when the team shot 64.2 percent.
• The Sycamores shot 67.7 in the first half while holding the Redbirds to 34.4 percent in the frame.
• Indiana State made six threes on the night, marking the 15th out of 16 times the Sycamores have hit six or more in a game this season.
• The Sycamores outrebounded the Redbirds 34-23 in the game.
• Indiana State allowed 19 points off 16 turnovers.

 
News & Notes

• The Sycamores are 5-0 in Valley play for the first time since 2014-15. The last three times they started 5-0, the Sycamores lost their sixth game. The last time Indiana State started off 6-0 was 1978-79.
• At 12-4, the Sycamores have already surpassed last season's total of overall and Valley wins.
• The Sycamores have only trailed by a total of 5:11 in Valley play this season and have not trailed in a Valley game since the 6:58 mark of the second half at Southern Illinois Dec. 7. Indiana State has not trailed by more than five points against a Valley team this season. They trailed by a season-high five points at 3:57 in the second half against Drake.
• The last time Indiana State won back-to-back Valley road games was Jan. 16 and Jan. 17, 2022 when the Sycamores defeated the Redbirds on back-to-back nights in Normal.
• Julian Larry shot a perfect 100 percent for the second time in three games, going 7-of-7 from the field for 18 points in his third straight double-figure scoring game. It's the first time the junior guard has posted double figures three games in a row.
• Cameron Henry's 18 points mark the first time he has scored in doubles since the Duquesne game. He shot 9-of-11 and had three steals and two blocks.
• Robbie Avila posted 14 points and six rebounds for his first double-digit scoring game since Southern Illinois.
• Jayson Kent rounded out the Sycamores in double figures with 12 points in his second double-figure scoring outing in three games.
• Cooper Neese pulled down a career-high nine rebounds, and he had already surpassed his season-high with six boards in the first half alone. He was 4-of-4 at the charity stripe to remain perfect at the line in Valley play.

 
Up Next
Indiana State returns home for a pair of back-to-back games at the Hulman Center beginning with UIC Saturday, Jan. 7. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET against the Flames.
 
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