DES MOINES, Iowa – Indiana State men's basketball suffers its first lost in Missouri Valley Conference play in the 2023-24 season at Drake University, 89-78. The Sycamores move to 13-3 overall and 4-1 in league play.
 
Robbie Avila and Ryan Conwell led the way for Indiana State, each finishing with 17 points. Avila made four three-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out three assists. Conwell's 17 points came from 5-for-11 shooting from the floor, including three made triples, accompanied by five rebounds and three assists.
 
Xavier Bledson scored 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, grabbed three rebounds, and tallied two assists. Isaiah Swope also recorded 12 points, converting on 7-for-8 from the foul line. Julian Larry, the Sycamores' fifth scorer in double figures, finished with 10 points with all 10 coming from the free-throw line – a perfect 10-for-10 night.
 
The turnovers factored into the loss for the Sycamores, tying the fourth-highest turnover mark of the season with 15 leading to 18 Bulldog points. Drake limited their turnovers to only three, the lowest total by a Sycamore opponent this season, which led to only a single Sycamore point.
 
Both Indiana State and Drake were able to hang close to their opponent by knocking down free throws. Indiana State finished 23-of-25 (92%) while Drake finished 19-for-21 (90.5%).
 
The Sycamores and Bulldogs battled from the start, with the lead reaching no more than five points through the first seven minutes of the contest. Conwell's first three-pointer gave the Sycamores that five-point advantage, followed by a second Conwell triple to give ISU an 18-10 lead with 12:35 remaining in the first half.
 
That lead would eventually be Indiana State's largest lead of the game. Drake slowly cut into the deficit and took its first lead of the ballgame, 24-23, with 8:18 on the clock, with the help of DU's Darnell Brodie who racked up 11 points through the first 11:45 of the game. After a small spurt by the Bulldogs that built a 43-37 lead with 1:45 left in the half, Avila knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game 43-43 heading into the halftime break.
 
Indiana State came out of the half and built a seven-point lead with four different Sycamores contributing in the span. Drake went on a 9-0 run in the next 3:15. With 11:24 to play, Bledson gave ISU a one-point, 58-57 lead off a tough layup in the paint. Drake rebutted with a layup in the paint of its own and never looked back. Drake used a 20-8 scoring run in the next 4:35 to build to an 81-66 lead with 4:48 remaining. Larry, Bledson, and Masen Miller combined for seven-straight in a late 8-2 Sycamore run in the final three minutes, but the time ran out on ISU en route to the Drake 89-78 victory.
 
News & Notes

• With the loss, the 2023-24 Sycamores still own the best record in the Coach Josh Schertz era at 13-3 to open a season.
• Indiana State's 23-for-25 and 92% effort from the charity stripe is the team's highest number of free throws made and the second-best percentage of the season after shooting 13-for-13 at Northern Illinois. The 23 free throws accounted for 29.49% of ISU's points against Drake.
• The Sycamores recorded the lowest shooting percentage of the season: 22-for-51 (43.1%).
• Despite only grabbing six offensive rebounds – tied for the 10^th lowest through 16 games – Indiana State finished with 16 second-chance points, the second-highest mark of the season. Nine of the 16 second-chance points came from threes.
• Robbie Avila's four three-pointers marked a new career-high.
• Jayson Kent grabbed 10 rebounds, his second-straight game with double-digit rebounds. Kent recorded a career-high 13 rebounds in the previous game at Northern Iowa. This marks the fifth game this season the junior has finished with 10+ rebounds.
• Xavier Bledson shot 5-for-7 from the floor (71.43%) marked his second-best shooting percentage of the season (min. five attempts) following his 4-for-5 (80%) finish against IUPUI.
• Indiana State recorded its first loss of the season when 5+ Sycamores score more than 10 points. ISU was previously 5-0 when 5+ Sycamores scored in double figures.

Postgame Radio Interview with Joey O'Rourke and Coach Josh Schertz


Up Next
Indiana State returns to Hulman Center on Saturday, January 13 on Hall of Fame Day to host Belmont with a 2 p.m. ET tip. Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. ET.
 
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