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Indiana State University Athletics

sterling young at UIC
74
Indiana St. INS 9-13,2-9 MVC
76
Winner UIC UIC 12-10,7-4 MVC
Indiana St. INS
9-13,2-9 MVC
74
Final
76
UIC UIC
12-10,7-4 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Indiana St. INS 32 42 74
UIC UIC 41 35 76

Game Recap: Basketball | | Nick Rush | GoSycamores.com

A pair of second-half comebacks not enough as Sycamores fall to Flames

CHICAGO, Ill. – Indiana State dropped yet another close contest, despite two different second-half comebacks, to UIC on Tuesday night, 76-74.
 
Sterling Young paced the Sycamore offense with a game-high 14 points and tied for the game high with six assists, shooting 4-for-8 from the field and 4-for-7 from three. Ian Scott shot perfect on the day, 6-for-6. He added in four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and four blocks. Derek Vorst chipped in eight points making 4-of-5, three rebounds, and four assists.
 
Camp Wagner and Enel St. Bernard each added nine points. Camp made 3-of-8 from deep, tying with Bruno Alocen for a game high of six rebounds each. St. Bernard added five rebounds, three assists, and four blocks. Xavier Hall came off the bench to score seven points and dish out five assists.
 
The Flames were too strong for the Sycamores for much of the first half, holding a 25-13 lead with just under nine minutes to play in the half. By the 7:49 mark, the Flames rose to a 30-14 lead, and by the 3:55 mark the score was 41-21 just under the four-minute mark.
 
That's when Indiana State flipped a switch. Camp Wagner drilled a three-pointer that sparked an 11-0 run for the Sycamores to close the half. Indiana State made 4-of-5 and a pair of free throws, spreading the ball around as five Sycamores scored in the run. In the scoreless UIC run, the Sycamore defense forced seven misses to trail 41-32 heading into the locker room.
 
The first five minutes of the second half was fairly even as the two teams traded off buckets. Down 12, 46-34, Indiana State battled all the way back with a 13-4 run, again with five different Trees scoring. Indiana State bounced back to trail 50-47, and a Markus Harding triple forced a timeout by UIC with 12:33 remaining.
 
Over the next six minutes, UIC built back to a 13-point lead, 69-56 with a 19-9 stretch. UIC shot 7-for-9 with four free throws in the run opposed to the Trees making 4-of-6.
 
Once again, the Trees got hot on both ends of the floor. Indiana State went on a 13-0 run from the 5:55 mark to the 2:52 mark (3:03 minutes of game time) to tie the ballgame at 69 apiece. Indiana State made 5-of-6 supported by a pair of triples by Sterling Young and one from Jo Van Buggenhout. On the defensive end, Indiana State allowed only two field goal attempts and forced three UIC turnovers.
 
Young found Derek Vorst in the paint for a strong two-handed slam giving the Sycamores their first lead of the game. UIC tied the game with a floater, but Xavier Hall responded with his own floater to put the Sycamores ahead 74-72 with 16 seconds on the clock.
 
UIC made the last four points of the game in the remaining seconds to take the 76-74 victory.
 
News & Notes
  • The Sycamores shot 52.6% from the field, the third time in the last five games finishing above 50%.
    • Indiana State turned it on in the second half, shooting 63% (17-for-27) from the field and 53.8% (7-for-13) in the final 20 minutes.
  • Indiana State shot 37.0% (10-for-27) from three, one of their best efforts in the month of January (eight games).
    • The Sycamores finished at 37.0% (10-for-27) against Drake on January 4, and the team shot 50.0% at Murray State on January 17 on only 16 attempts (8-for-16).
    • The 10 three-pointers are the most since January 4 at Drake, and it's only the sixth time this season the team has made 10 or more.
  • Indiana State dished out 25 assists as a team, the second most this season against Division I teams (26 against both Illinois State on January 14 and Eureka on December 2).
    • The team tailed 25 assists on 30 made field goals (83.3%) marking the second-best percentage this season (85% vs. Belmont, 24 assists on 28 makes).
  • The Sycamores grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, tying for best this season against Division I teams (19 against Illinois Tech, 14 against Evansville on January 10).
  • The Trees swatted nine shots in the game, the best this season. This is the most since November 19, 2017 when Indiana State blocked nine shots against Ohio – but that team did it in four overtimes.
    • Ian Scott (4) and Enel St. Bernard (4) combined to block 8-of-9 shots for Indiana State. The last time a Sycamore recorded four blocked shots in a game was Tre Williams on February 27, 2021 (also 4). St. Bernard did it tonight off the bench in 22 1/2 minutes on the court.
    • Neither were career highs – Scott's high is five and St. Bernard's high is nine.
  • Sterling Young tied his career high with six assists and made a season-high four threes.
  • Derek Vorst dished out a season high four assists.
  • Indiana State committed 21 turnovers in the game, tying for the most since last year's season opener against FAU (also 21).
  • In the last three games:
    • The Sycamores have a better field goal percentage than their opponents (48.5% to 40.8%).
    • The Sycamores are dead even on three-point percentage at 30.3% (23-for-76 for Indiana State, 20-for-66 by opponents).
    • Indiana State is being outshot by the opponents from the line: Indiana State (60.0%, 21-for-35) to opponents (76.0%, 57-75).
    • In the last three games, Indiana State has recorded 21, 18, and 19 turnovers. The 58 combined turnovers (19.3 per game) mark a margin of -11.7 against the opponents (23 total, 7.7 per game).
    • Ian Scott is shooting 70.8% from the field (17-for-24).
    • Sterling Young is shooting 50% from three (9-for-18).
  • Shooting only eight attempts from the line marks the second lowest in the month of January (four at Northern Iowa on January 1).
    • In the last four games (going back through the Murray State game) Indiana State has attempted 50 free throw attempts; the opponents have attempts 98. Indiana state is. 30-for-50 (60%) while opponents are 73-for-98 (74.5%).
  • The Sycamores' have played in close games in nearly every conference game.
    • December 18 (Bradley) – loss – tied at end of regulation
    • December 29 (Belmont) – win – tied at end of regulation
    • January 1 (Northern Iowa) – loss – within three points with 2:17 left
    • January 4 (Drake) – loss by two
    • January 10 (Evansville) – loss by three
    • January 17 (Murray State – loss by four – within two with :19 left
    • January 21 (Bradley) – loss – within three with :17 left
    • January 27 (UIC) – loss by two
 
Up Next
Indiana State returns to Hulman Center on Saturday, January 31 against Valparaiso. Game time is set for 1 p.m. ET.
 
The game is the annual Suits & Sneakers game, where the coaching staff will be wearing suits for the game (NABC's Coaches vs. Cancer).
 
There will be a Hawaiian shirt giveaway, where the first 1,000 fans will receive the shirt.
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on Sycamore Basketball, visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from the both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
 
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