TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State men's basketball secured its second 40-point win of the season with a 101-61 victory over Valparaiso. Indiana State moved to 21-3 overall, 12-1 in the Missouri Valley.

Robbie Avila led Indiana State in scoring for the fifth time this season, tying his career high of 27 points of 10-for-12 shooting. Avila grabbed eight rebounds and recorded two assists. Julian Larry scored 12 points on 4-of-6 from the floor and tallied five rebounds while tying his assist total with nine. Ryan Conwell also finished with 12 points shooting 5-for-9 from the field and recorded four assists, his most in an MVC game. Xavier Bledson tallied 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench in just under 15 minutes; this is Bledson's highest scoring mark since scoring 12 at Drake on Jan. 10. Isaiah Swope rounded out the five Sycamores in double figures with 10 points.

Jayson Kent finished with nine points and six rebounds, with six-of-nine points coming by way of the dunk. Jake Wolfe scored six points, his most since recording nine at Alabama. Aaron Gray tied his career high as a Sycamore with five rebounds. Eli Shetlar chipped in with six points, Derek Vorst with four points, and Masen Miller with three. Jaden Schertz swiped two passes.

The Sycamores and Beacons went back-and-forth early on with Valpo making its first three baskets. After a 7-4 lead by Valpo, ISU went on its first run 18-0 to take a 22-7 lead with six points from Bledson, five from Kent, Conwell with four, and points from Larry and Avila. Valpo scored their 10th point of the game at the 10:47 mark with a score of 24-12 Sycamores. ISU maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the half, taking a 50-36 lead into the break. Indiana State shot 19-for-31 in the first half from the floor and nine of the 12 misses came from deep.

The second half was more of the same, as Indiana State used the first 9:33 of the second half to extend the lead to 34 points, 76-42. The Sycamores outscored the Beacons 26-6 in that stretch. Avila got the run going with six of the first eight, and scored 10 of the 26 points. Swope scored eight, and Conwell, Larry, and Bledson all contributed in that burst.

At the midpoint of the second half, Masen Miller came off the bench and immediately knocked down a triple. A couple minutes later, Coach Schertz went to the bench and Shetlar drained back-to-back three-pointers, followed by Vorst's first dunk of the season with 6:43 remaining.

The final six minutes of offense from the Sycamores came from Wolfe, Vorst, and Gray. Wolfe made two free throws and a layup 90 seconds later. Vorst scored on a hookshot to put the Sycamores at 99 points, then Gray knocked down a pair of free throws to score Indiana State's 100th and 101st point with 1:17 to play. The Sycamore defense allowed Valpo to score only seven points in the final 5:42 to give Indiana State its 40-point, 101-61 victory.

News & Notes

• Indiana State's 21-3 and 12-1 in the Valley is the best under Coach Josh Schertz.
• ISU's 101 points is the second time the team has scored 100+ points (103 vs Rice). 
• Indiana State recorded the highest rebound total as a team with 49, barely beating the previous high of 48 with against Southern Indiana. ISU also secured its best rebounding margin against an opponent this season at 21 (49-28). This is only the third time the Sycamores have out-rebounded its opponent by 15+ (Southern Indiana - 20, Northern Illinois - 18).
• The 40-point victory is the fourth 20-plus-point win against MVC opponents this season (Southern Illinois - 33, Belmont - 30, Belmont - 22).
• The Sycamores tied the season high in points in the paint with 56 (56 vs IUPUI). 
• The ISU bench scored 31 points against Valpo. This is the most the bench has scored in the last 14 games, and it's only the fourth time the bench as scored 30+ points this season.

Postgame Press Conference Presented by Team Green Law



Postgame Radio Interview with Joey O'Rourke Presented by Dorsett Automotive


Up Next
The Sycamores travel to Springfield, Mo. for a tough test against the Missouri State Bears. The game is set for 2 p.m. ET.

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