Skip To Main Content

Indiana State University Athletics

MBB Seniors
66
Winner Missouri St. MOST 16-14,12-8 MVC
62
Indiana St. INS 20-11,13-7 MVC
Winner
Missouri St. MOST
16-14,12-8 MVC
66
Final
62
Indiana St. INS
20-11,13-7 MVC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Missouri St. MOST 34 32 66
Indiana St. INS 25 37 62

Game Recap: Basketball | | Codie Kunstmann | GoSycamores.com

Sycamores can’t overcome early deficit, fall to Missouri State on senior day

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State got down early and could not completely get out of the hole on senior day Sunday afternoon as the Sycamores fell 66-62 to Missouri State in the final game of the regular season. Indiana State trailed by as much as 14 in the first half and outscored the Bears in the second half, cutting the deficit to one point in the final 23 seconds, but could not fully overcome the deficit.
 
The Sycamores conclude the regular season with a 20-11 overall mark and 13-7 Valley record, a nine-win improvement from last season. This marks ISU's first 20-win season since 2013-14 and just the eighth time overall since joining the Valley in 1976-77. The Sycamores also notched 13 Valley wins for the first time since 1999-20 when Indiana State won the Valley with a 14-4 league record.
 
A trio of seniors scored in double figures led by Cooper Neese with 14 points, followed by Cade McKnight and Courvoisier McCauley with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Julian Larry had a season-high four steals alongside a tied team-high three assists, and McCauley led the Sycamores on the boards with seven rebounds.
 
The Bears scored the first 20 of their 66 total points in the first six and a half minutes of the first half, which quickly put the Sycamores down 20-11 in the game. Indiana State trailed by a game-high 14 points at 5:07 in the opening period but outscored the Bears 8-3 in the last 4:54 of the frame to trail by just nine points at 34-25 going into the halftime break. The Sycamores started the game off 5-of-15 from the field and did not make a 3-pointer in the first half, shooting 0-of-9 beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
 
Missouri State went back up by 12 at 17:41 in the second, but Indiana State sparked some momentum with a nearly minute-long possession. The Sycamores pulled down two straight offensive boards and then drew a foul before McKnight fed Larry for a layup to end that possession and cut the deficit back down to eight points at 40-32 with 15:59 to go.
 
Zach Hobbs finally hit Indiana State's first triple of the day at 13:55 when Cameron Henry snagged the rebound on a Missouri State airball and fed it all the way down to Hobbs who was waiting all alone for a corner three. Larry swiped his fourth pass of the day to set McKnight up for a layup that trimmed ISU's deficit to four points at 42-38 with 13:18 left, and Neese later drilled a shot from the logo to make it 54-49 at 6:37, which made him the first Sycamore to hit double figures on the scoresheet.
 
Indiana State trailed 63-57 with a minute to go when Neese hit a stepback jumper and then pulled down the rebound on a missed Missouri State free throw with 36 seconds to go. McCauley nailed a triple to make it a one-point game at 63-62 with 23 seconds on the clock, but that is as close as the Sycamores would come to erasing their deficit. Missouri State hit three free throws in the final 17 seconds to secure the win.
 
Inside the Numbers
  • Indiana State shot 0-of-9 from three in the first half and 3-of-9 in the second to finish with a tied season-low 16.7 percent beyond the arc in the game.
  • Missouri State scored 20 of its 66 points in the first six and a half minutes before the Indiana State defense stepped up and allowed just 46 points across the last 33 and a half minutes in the game.
  • The Bears outshot the Sycamores in the game 42.6 percent to 40.0 percent from the field, and Missouri State was 7-of-24 from three.
  • The Sycamores were outrebounded 37-31 in the game including 11-7 on the offensive boards.
News & Notes
  • Sunday is the first time this season the Sycamores have not made a 3-pointer in the first half, and they finished with a season-low three triples in the game which ties the season-low of 16.7 percent at Murray State when ISU shot 5-of-30 in an 82-73 loss to the Racers.
  • Indiana State's 25 points in the first half mark a season low for points in the first half of a game for the Sycamores this year.
  • Today's loss marks Indiana State's first and only time getting swept in a season series this year. Both losses to Missouri State have come by a combined six total points.
  • There have been just two games this season in which the Sycamores did not hold a lead at any point, and both of those games have been against Missouri State.
  • Julian Larry's season-high four steals in the game mark a Valley career high for him.
  • Cooper Neese closed the regular season with three straight double-figure scoring games and has made at least one 3-pointer in nine of his last 10 games.
  • Courvoisier McCauley posted double figures in his eighth straight game and has scored in double figures in all but three games this season, making at least one 3-pointer in all 31 games.
Up Next
The Sycamores head to St. Louis for Arch Madness March 2-5 at the Enterprise Center. Indiana State locked in the fifth seed and will face 12th-seeded Evansville in the first round of the tournament Thursday, March 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET. The winner of that game will face fourth-seeded Belmont Friday, March 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
 
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.
 
- #MarchOn -
 
Print Friendly Version