TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State men's basketball lost at home to Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon, 76-72 in overtime.
 
Derek Vorst led the Sycamores in scoring with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting with three rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. Xavier Hall and Camp Wagner each scored 11 points, rounding out the three Sycamores in double figures. Hall made 5-of-6 from the field, adding five rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Enel St. Bernard grabbed a team-high six rebounds, and Sterling Young led the team in assists with five.
 
Xavier Hall got the game underway with a corner three-pointer, and after leaving 5-2, Valpo scored six straight to take an 8-5 lead. Three points by Ian Scott tied the game at the first game break at 15:04, 8-8. Both teams only scored 2 points each through the next media timeout, as the teams combined to shoot 1-for-8. The lone field goal came from a Camp hookshot.
 
Indiana State held a small lead until Valpo tied the game at 24, but Camp Wagner in the next possession drilled a three-pointer from the wing just before the four-minute mark in the half. His triple started a 9-0 run as only Wagner and Scott scored in the run. Indiana State led 33-24 at the end of the run with two minutes to play.
 
Just as he opened the half in scoring, Hall closed the half with a driving layup at the buzzer to give INS the 37-27 lead at the break.
 
Indiana State held Valpo to a 29% (9-for-31) shooting percentage from the field in the half, compared to INS' 55.6%. Sycamores made 11-of-15 of their two-point attempts.
 
Sterling Young took all 4 shots for INS to open the half, making two. He then drove the lane but dumped the ball off to Derek Vorst for a dunk to lead 44-35 with 16:36 on the clock.
 
As the game reached the 12-minute mark on the clock, the Sycamores went scoreless for about four-and-a-half minutes before Vorst ended the drought with a layup. The Trees still held a five-point, 46-41 lead.
 
Valpo came back to tie the game at 49 at the media timeout (7:33) with an 8-3 run. Coming out of the timeout, Jo Van Buggenhout reclaimed the Indiana State lead with a layup before both teams exchanged buckets through the next media timeout, with the Sycamores holding a 59-58 lead with 3:16 remaining.
 
The Beacons took a 64-62 lead with 1:18 remaining, their first lead since the 16-minute mark in the first half. Hall then tied the game back up with a layup before Valpo answered with a layup of their own with 30 seconds left.
 
With 14 seconds to play, Wagner went to the line and sank both to re-tie the game at 66 apiece. Valpo missed a three-pointer but was fouled when attempting the putback layup with 1.1 seconds left. Both free throws were missed, sending the game into overtime tied at 66.
 
Valpo opened overtime with a three-pointer in their first possession. Vorst made the first point off a free throw for INS at the 2:52 mark, then Bruno Alocen knocked down a three in front of his bench to put INS ahead 70-69 with 2:22 remaining.
 
Vorst made a pair of free throws, followed by a bucket and a free throw by Valpo, giving the Beacons the 74-72 lead. With 12 seconds left, a Sycamore three was off the mark, which was followed by a pair of Valpo free throws to give them the 76-72 victory.

Postgame Press Conference Presented by Team Green Law

 
News & Notes

• In overtime, the Sycamores went 1-for-8 from the field, while the Beacons went 2-for-3 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
• This overtime game was the third of the season, all inside Hulman Center. The record for Indiana State in overtime this year is 1-2.
• With 40 points in the paint, this is the second-straight game the Sycamores have had 40+ points in the paint.
• Indiana State recorded more assists than Valparaiso, now marking 21-of-23 games either tying or finishing with more assists than the opponents.
• With 5,137 people in attendance, this is the highest attended game since the home opener vs. Illinois Tech on November 6.
• With 21 fouls called on the Sycamores today, this ties the most this season (at Bradley on January 21).
  • Including this afternoon, in the last six games (dating back through the Illinois State game on January 14, Sycamore opponents have averaged 24.7 free throw attempts per game. Before the stretch, opponents averaged 15.06 per game.
• The Sycamores are 3-11 when being outrebounded this season
• Indiana State is now on a five-game losing streak. In conference play, Indiana State moved to 1-6 when leading at the half.
• Derek Vorst led the Sycamores in scoring with 14 points today for the first time this season. He also tied his career high blocks with two.
• Xavier Hall shot 83.3% from the field today, his best percentage of the season. He also tied his season high of five rebounds, which he set on December 18 vs. Bradley.
• Over the last three games, Sterling Young has averaged 5.2 assists per game, better than his season average.
• In the last six games, Enel St. Bernard has been one of the top rebounders in 5-of-the-6, leading the team in three.
• The Sycamores have played in close games in nearly every conference game.
  • December 18 (Bradley) – loss – tied at the end of regulation
  • December 29 (Belmont) – win – tied at the 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
  • January 31 (Valparaiso) – loss by four – tied the game with 14 seconds remaining

Up Next
The Sycamores have another quick turnaround, taking on Evansville on the road on Tuesday, February 3 at 8 p.m. ET.
 
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