MILWAUKEE, Wisc. - Indiana State men's basketball earned a 70-68 victory over MKE on Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee to wrap up the 2025-26 non-conference schedule.
 
Camp Wagner led the way with a game-high 18 points and tied for the game high in rebounds with nine. Derek Vorst scored 12 points, while Jo Van Buggenhout added in 11. Xavier Hall and Sterling Young each scored 10 points. Enel St. Bernard pulled down six rebounds, and Wagner, Hall, and Van Buggenhout all dished out four assists.
 
Indiana State came out strong building to a 6-0 with Derek Vorst scoring four of the six. Milwaukee picked up the pace, but they were unable to shorten the gap as the Sycamores went 11-8 over the next 6:05 to set the score at 17-8 Indiana State. MKE closed the gap with an 8-0 run over 1:35 stopped by a layup from Vorst to set the score at 19-16 in favor of the Sycamores. The Panthers pushed to their first lead of the game with free throws from Josh Dixon with 8:40 left in the first half. Both teams went back and forth for shots finishing the half with five lead changes and three ties.
 
Indiana State came out of the break strong, scoring the first five off a dunk from Vorst and three pointer from Wagner to take back the lead 41-39 Sycamores. The teams went back and forth with ties on the scoreboard in the next 30 seconds before MKE pushed to a six point lead. Indiana State rallied going on a 7-2 run sparked by a three-pointer by Sterling Young to bring the score to 53-52 Panthers.
 
The Sycamores took the lead with a two-pointer from Jo Van Buggenhout quickly followed by a three-pointer from Young to put the Sycamores up 59-55. MKE tied the game back up with two free throws and a layup. Three-point shots from both teams kept the game tied with 7:24 left in the second half. After two minutes of scoreless play, Xavier Hall put the Sycamores back in the lead with a driving layup. Indiana State maintained control going 6-4 to set the score at 70-66 with 2:37 left in the game.
 
The Panthers brought the game within two points off two free throws from Faizon Fields with 1:31 left in the half. Indiana State drove the ball down the floor missing a three-point shot at the end of the shot clock. MKE took the ball back down the other side and missed their own three at the end of the shot clock. Indiana State missed a free throw off a foul in bonus with 0:24 left on the clock. The Panthers took the ball back down the court pulling a foul in double bonus then missing both free throw shots before fouling a Sycamore on the rebound resulting in another free throw shot for Indiana State which ended in a miss with 0:04 left on the clock.
 
The Panthers took the ball back down the court and drew the foul only to miss a pair of free throws. A quick foul sent the Sycamores to the line, but the missed attempt gave MKE one final chance.
 
Milwaukee drove the length of the court hoping for a three-point game-winner at the buzzer, but the shot fell short of the rim, ending the game with a final score of 70-68, Indiana State.  
 
News and Notes

• Indiana State shot 55.8% on 29-of-52 from the floor and 8-for-24 from deep.
  • The percentage is the second-best effort for the season but the best against Division I opponents.
  • The 52 field goal attempts are a season low.
  • From inside the arc, Indiana State shot 21-for-28 (75.0%), a season-best percentage.
  • The Sycamores closed the game making eight of their last 10 field goal attempts. The Trees scored 18 points in the stretch as Jo Van Buggenhout (7) and Xavier Hall (6) combined to score 13 of the 18.
• In 2024-25, Indiana State scored 79 points or fewer 13 times with a 2-11 record. So far this season (11 games), Indiana State has scored 79 points or fewer nine times with a record of 5-4. The Sycamores have yet to score more than 77 points against a Division I opponent.
  • In games scoring 70 points or fewer, Indiana State is 4-1 (62 in a loss against No. 4/4 Duke).
• Five Sycamores scored at least 10 points - the second time this season and the eighth time since the beginning of last season.
• The Sycamores went 4-of-6 from the free throw line, a season low in attempts.
• The Sycamore defense forced MKE to shoot 19.2% from three, tying for the second-lowest by an opponent. It was a season-low shooting day from downtown for Milwaukee. Their 35.8% from the field is their second lowest of the season by only 0.02%.
  • Milwaukee entered Sunday averaging 81.0 points per game on 44.4% shooting as a team.
  • Indiana State held two of MKE's starters to combine to shoot 2-of-20 from the field.
• Milwaukee grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, tied for the second-most by an opponent this season. Those 16 O-boards turned into 21 second chance points.
• Indiana State committed 15 turnovers compared to MKE's six. This is the largest margin of the season.
• Camp Wagner finished 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-7 from downtown. The rest of the team shot 4-of-17 from three.
  • Wagner made 30-straight free throws dating back to last season before missing his third attempt this afternoon.
  • Wagner's nine rebounds set a new career high.
• Xavier Hall scored six of his 10 points and grabbed both of his rebounds with under 5:20 to play in the game.

 
Up Next
Indiana State returns home to open Missouri Valley play on Thursday, December 18 to take on Bradley inside the Hulman Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET with doors opening at 6 p.m. ET.
 
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