ST. LOUIS, Mo. – No. 1 Indiana State's rallied back from an 18-point second half deficit to take it down to the wire on Sunday afternoon at the Enterprise Center, but the Sycamores were unable to fully complete the comeback attempt against No. 2 Drake as ISU fell in the Arch Madness Championship Game, 84-80.
 
Trailing 67-49 with 10:08 to play, the Sycamores (28-6) embarked on a 24-5 run over the next six minutes to erase the deficit and take their first lead since the 18:07 mark in the first half. Jayson Kent started the stretch with a tough layup and followed up with a dunk before Isaiah Swope took the game over.
 
Swope scored 10 consecutive points at one point during the stretch and capped the run getting fouled on a made three-pointer. The junior guard hit the ensuing and-one opportunity to give Indiana State the 73-72 lead with 4:08 remaining on the clock.
 
After Drake's Darnell Brodie (two) and Swope (three) traded free throws, the Sycamores led 76-74 with 3:36 to play. DU's Tucker DeVries answered with a turnaround jumper in the paint to even the score, before Connor Enright followed up an ISU turnover with a three-pointer and Brodie converted a layup to put Drake back ahead 81-76.
 
Jayson Kent scored off an offensive rebound to cut the deficit back down to 81-78, but Brodie and DeVries both converted free throws down the stretch to secure the Bulldog win.
 
Drake opened up the contest hitting their first seven three-pointers in building an early double-digit lead over the Sycamores. Atin Wright (15) and DeVries (14) both scored double-digits over the opening half as the Bulldogs went by as many as 14 points at 37-23 with 7:36 remaining over the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Sycamores cut the lead down to seven points twice in the first half with Ryan Conwell scoring seven consecutive points to cut the margin to 37-30, while Jayson Kent put back a layup at the 4:24 mark to cut it down to 39-32. The Bulldogs scored the final six points to take the 45-32 lead into the halftime break.
 
All five Sycamore starters scored double-digits in Sunday's championship game paced by Kent's 22-point, nine-rebound performance. Swope finished with 19 points (all in the second half), while Robbie Avila contributed 15 points and seven rebounds. Conwell (13 points, seven rebounds) and Julian Larry (10 points, five assists) were also in double-digits.
 
DeVries scored a game-high 27 points to pace Drake with Wright and Brodie finishing with 17 points apiece for Drake.
 
DeVries was named the 2024 Arch Madness Most Outstanding Player. The remainder of the team was filled out by Indiana State's Robbie Avila and Ryan Conwell, Bradley's Connor Hickman, and Drake's Atin Wright.
 
News & Notes

• Indiana State's seven-game winning streak was snapped on Sunday afternoon as the Sycamores finished Arch Madness with a 28-6 record.
• The Sycamores move to 31-41 all-time in Arch Madness including a 3-3 mark overall in the championship game.
• The Sycamores failed to reach 20 assists for the first time in the tournament finishing with 12 overall on Sunday.
• All five starters scored for the 11th time in the 2023-24 season with ISU falling to just 9-2 overall when accomplishing the feat.
• Sunday marked ISU's second loss when scoring 80 or more points this season.
• The Sycamores shot 68.6% inside the arc, the seventh-best effort this season of 34 games.
• Jayson Kent shot a season-best 90% (9-for-10) from the field (min. 5 attempts). 

 
Up Next
Indiana State will await its postseason fate next week with the unveiling of the 2024 NCAA March Madness postseason bracket.
 
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