ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Indiana State's Arch Madness run came to a gut-wrenching close Saturday afternoon with a 71-70 loss to No. 1 Bradley in the MVC Tournament Semifinals inside Enterprise Center. The fifth-seeded Sycamores overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to take a one-point lead on a clutch 3-pointer from Courvoisier McCauley with 36 seconds to go but fell victim to a foul call in the last six seconds where Bradley sunk two game-winning free throws.
 
Cameron Henry and Robbie Avila combined for 24 of ISU's 36 points in the second half and tied for the team lead of 16 points. Henry was 7of-6 from the free throw line in the second half while Avila was 5-of-6.
 
Courvoisier McCauley pulled down a team-high seven boards alongside 14 points including four triples, and Cooper Neese was the fourth Sycamore in double figures with 11 points.
 
The Sycamores made eight threes in the game, starting off 3-of-3 and shooting 7-of-14 beyond the arc in the first half before shooting just 1-of-8 from three in the second half.
 
Indiana State held Rienk Mast to just two points in the game and allowed just two field goals from him and Malevy combined.
 
Bradley got the first bucket of the game, but the Sycamores responded with three straight threes including back-to-back triples for McCauley in a first half that saw six lead changes and four ties. After the Sycamores held their highest lead of the day at eight points (20-12) with 13:49 to go in the first, Bradley fought back to cut its deficit to one point and neither team gained a lead more than three points until back-to-back Bradley buckets put the Braves up by four at 35-31 with 1:29 left in the half. Neese responded with a triple to make it 35-34 and Indiana State trailed by just one point at halftime.
 
The Braves used an 8-0 run in the second half to get up by 11 points at 55-44 with 13:55 left in the second frame, but the Sycamores continued to fight back, trimming the deficit to six points on a Neese and-one and then five points on a Henry and-one with 9:17 to go that made it 59-54. Bradley went back up by nine, but Neese then fed Cade McKnight for a layup with another pair of Henry free throws to follow that pulled ISU back within five points at 63-58.
 
With the Sycamores down 69-61 at 3:08 and their season on the line, Avila sparked a 9-0 run that saw back-to-back Henry layups that made it 69-67. Bradley called a timeout with a two-point lead, and on its next possession, turned the ball over to McCauley and ISU called its final timeout with 41.6 on the clock.
 
Out of that timeout, McCauley drained a dramatic go-ahead three that put ISU up 70-69 with 36 seconds to go. Henry blocked a Bradley jumper at 19 seconds, and the Braves got a second chance, but missed the 3-point attempt with nine seconds remaining. Julian Larry aggressively went for the rebound and was called for an unfortunate, ill-fated foul that sent Bradley to the line for a one-and-one. Leons knocked down both free throws and McCauley launched a desperate last-second shot that did not go in.
 
News & Notes

• Indiana State exits the MVC Tournament with a 22-12 record, the most victories by an Indiana State squad since the 2013-14 season. ISU's MVC Tournament record falls to 28-40, including 5-6 in the semifinal round
• Cooper Neese played in his 135th career game today which puts him in front of Jake Odum as ISU's all-time leader in career games played.
• After setting the MVC Tournament record for threes in a game against Belmont with nine, Neese hit two in today's game to set a record for threes in an MVC Tournament with 16 across the three games.
• The Sycamores set an MVC Tournament record for most team 3-pointers in an MVC Tournament with 37 across the three games. This comes after ISU set the record for team threes in a single MVC Tournament game against Belmont with 16.
• Robbie Avila is just the sixth freshman to score over 300 points at ISU and the first since the 2014-15 season. His 16 points tonight puts him at 338 points which ranks fifth on ISU's all-time list of freshman scoring.
• With four triples in today's game, Courvoisier McCauley collected his 101st three of the year and becomes just the second Sycamore ever to make 100 3-pointers in a single season.

 
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