ISU Sycamores win MVC opener in Overtime, 69-59 over Illinois State

TERRE HAUTE, IN (12-22-2005) – Indiana State sophomore Gabe Moore sparked the Sycamores with 10 points in the overtime period to help the home team pull away for a 69-59 win over the Illinois State Redbirds and retain a perfect 8-0 record on the season. The Redbirds fought back to take their first lead of the second period with 2:17 remaining and had an opportunity to win at the end of regulation, but the Sycamore defense held strong and the Redbirds fall to 5-4 on the season.

“When we got the second chance to keep the game going at the end of the second half, we stepped up and were able to turn up the pressure on them,” Moore said.

Moore began the overtime period with three free throws after being fouled behind the arc. Following a turnover, Moore stole the inbounds pass and earned a three-point play to put the Sycamores up 56-50 just 20 seconds into the extra frame. In all, the Sycamores would outscore the Redbirds 19-9 in the overtime period for their first conference win of the season.

Indiana State had four players in double figures, including a team-high 21 points from David Moss while Moore added 18 and freshman Jay Tunnell and junior Trent Wurtz posted 15 and 10, respectively.

Indiana State converted 33 of 43 attempts at the charity stripe, including 13 of 14 makes in overtime.

The Sycamores led most of the game but never led by more than eight. The resilient Redbirds fought back to take their first lead of the second period with 2:17 left in the second half, 49-50. Indiana State would come back and tie the game with 27 seconds in the game when Wurtz was sent to the line and hit one of two free throws. Illinois State had the ball in the closing seconds of regulation, but wasn’t able to get a shot of in the final seconds.

“We dodged a bullet on the play at the end of the game,” head coach Royce Waltman said. “We almost looked defeated coming back to the huddle because we couldn’t win the game in regulation. I told the team that we have to treat this as a great opportunity. We played with more life in the overtime than we did in the entire game.”

In addition to his overtime heroics, Moore contributed 10 rebounds to his 18 point performance for his first ever double-double and the first Sycamore double-double of the season. Moss added eight boards, a game-high seven assists and two steals.

The team will now break for the holidays, but return to the court for two conference road games Dec. 28 at Wichita State and Dec. 30 at Missouri State. USA-365.com provides live Internet audio streaming with Brian Fritz providing the play-by-play and Jim Waugh the color commentary. The pre-game shows both start at 6:45 p.m. (CST), with the tip-off set for 7:05 p.m., CST / 8:05 p.m., EST on www.USA-365.com.

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