VALPARAISO, Ind. – Indiana State men's basketball dropped their Sunday afternoon matchup at Valparaiso, 76-75.
 
The Sycamores finished with five in double-digit scoring, led by Sterling Young with 16 on 6-for-11 shooting, adding in four rebounds. Xavier Hall scored 14 on 5-of-9 shooting, adding five assists and no turnovers in 34 minutes of action. Ian Scott finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
 
Markus Harding scored 11 points on a 5-for-7 shooting day, and Bruno Alocen wrapped up the five Sycamores with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and no turnovers.
 
After a few offensive miscues, Indiana State scored on three-straight possessions leading into the first media timeout at the 15:49, tying the game at 7-7. Xavier Hall scored the first basket on a driving layup, followed by a Markus Harding slam and a Sterling Young triple.
 
There would be seven lead changes and a pair of ties to get the game to the next media timeout, where Valpo led 20-18 with 11:27 remaining in the half.
 
After a Harding hookshot fell through, Valpo scored on back-to-back threes forcing a Sycamore timeout at the 8:58 mark.
 
The Beacons built to a 30-22 advantage, but the Sycamores battled back to bring the game with four points, 32-28, which ended with a pair of Hall layups. Both teams were shooting better than 60% from the field through this point in the game at the 6:39 mark before the timeout.
 
The first half ended nearly even but still in favor or Valpo, 17-15, in the last six-and-a-half minutes. Valpo made 6-of-7 to close the half in the stretch opposed to the Sycamores' 5-of-10. The Beacons took a 49-43 lead into the break. The Sycamores committed only five turnovers in the half.
 
Valparaiso opened the second half with a three, followed by a dunk from Ian Scott and another from the Beacons. A minute into the half, Valpo held a 10-point, 55-45 lead.
 
That's when the Sycamores kicked it up a notch. Indiana State came back to bring the game within a point over the next three-and-a-half minutes with a 13-4 run, shooting perfect in the stretch: 5-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from the line. The score was 59-58, Beacons, with 14:10 on the ticker.
 
A couple game minutes pass before Valpo knocked in back-to-back three-pointers. The Beacons built to a 70-62 lead before the Sycamores' defensed forced Valpo to a scoreless period and took a 71-70 lead. It was short-lived as Valpo led 72-71 at the final media timeout with 3:50 on the clock.
 
Both teams would go cold from the field – Valparaiso made only 1-of-6 from the field in the remainder of the game versus Indiana State making 2-of-5 and 0-of-1 from the line. Valpo's pair of free throws would hold them in the game long enough to grab three offensive rebounds in the final 13 seconds of the game and make a short jumper with only seconds left, escaping with the one-point, 76-75 victory.
 
News & Notes

• Indiana State shot 54.4% from the field (31-for-57), the sixth-best effort this season and the best percentage in a loss.
  • The 64.3% (27-for-42) two-point percentage is the best since making 66.7% at UIC on January 27.
• The Sycamores scored 54 points in the paint Sunday afternoon, the best effort all season against Division I opponents (60 against Illinois Tech). It's the most in a game for the Sycamores since last season when the team played at Valparaiso, scoring 56 in the paint on January 8 in a 98-95 overtime loss.
• Eight turnovers are the second-lowest mark of the season (six vs. Illinois State on January 14).
• This was the slowest-paced game for Indiana State this season – each team only had 61 possessions in the game. Indiana State averaged just under 70 possession per game entering Sunday.
• Xavier Hall with 14 points recorded back-to-back double-digit games; hasn't done so since a streak of four straight from December 7-21 (four games).
  • Hall now has five assists in four-straight games, and five assists in five of the six games.
  • In the last six games, he is shooting 20-for-38 (52.8%) from the field, better than his season average entering the game (42.7%).
• Markus Harding after shooting 5-for-7 today is shooting 63.6% in his last free games.
  • Since coming back from injury (seven games), Harding is shooting at a 56.4% (22-for-39) clip from the field and 47.1% (8-for-17) mark from deep.
• With six rebounds in today's game, Enel St. Bernard has eight games in the last 10 with six or more rebounds. He has 6+ in each of the last five games.
  • He swatted three shots today, recording at least one block in five of the last six games. It's his seventh multi-block game this season. He moved into the team lead in total blocks this season with 25 total (Ian Scott 23).
• Sterling Young's 16 points are his most in MVC play this season.
• Four made three-pointers is the lowest of the season.
• Valpo's 51.8% shooting from the field is the first time a team finished better than 50% since Illinois State on January 14 (55.4%, 10 games).
  • Their 42.1% (8-of-19) mark from deep is the best since Illinois State shot 42.9% (9-of-21) on January 14.
  • Their 15 offensive rebounds ties for the fifth most by an opponent this season.
• The Sycamores allowed 12 offensive rebounds in the second half alone, leading to 14 second-chance points. Valparaiso shot only 37.9% (11-for-29) from the field in the half and 22.2% (2-for-9) from the line.
• 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
  • January 31 (Valparaiso) – loss by four – tied at end of regulation
  • February 12 (Murray State) – loss by 2
  • February 15 (Valparaiso) – loss by 1 – led with less than 10 seconds left
• In 2026 so far, the average scoring margin is -2.8.

 
Up Next
Indiana State takes to the road Sunday, February 15 to face Valparaiso. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
 
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