UE back at Ford Center for next two contests
 TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Jaylon Brown went a perfect 16-for-16 from the free throw line on his way to a game-high 25 points, but Brenton Scott countered with 22 to give Indiana State an 85-84 overtime win over the University of Evansville men’s basketball team on Wednesday evening at the Hulman Center.
Brown led all scorers with his efforts while playing 43 of the 45 minutes. Ryan Taylor totaled 18 points while Christian Benzon recorded 12 and Dru Smith had 10 for UE (10-14, 1-10 MVC).
Scott hit 7 of his 12 attempts and three triples on his way to pace the Sycamores (8-15, 2-9 MVC). Everett Clemons had 14 points while three other ISU players recorded double figures.
“We played hard tonight. We executed well and did some good things, but we were not able to stop them in the second half,†UE head coach Marty Simmons said.
Hitting four of its first five shots and four free throws, the Purple Aces started the night taking a 13-3 lead. Ryan Taylor had seven of those points, hitting all three of his opening attempts. Matt Van Scyoc ended the stretch with a three as the Sycamores responded with an 8-2 stretch, cutting the gap so six four points.
Triples by Christian Benzon and Dru Smith saw UE takes its largest lead to that point at 33-22 with 4:43 left before Indiana State responded once again. Treys by Van Scyoc and Brenton Scott came in an 8-0 stretch that made it a 3-point lead for the Aces. Jaiveon Eaves helped to overcome the run as his triple put UE back up at 38-32.
UE added to the lead in the final moments, extending their edge to ten at 42-32 going into the locker room. Shooting 63.6%, the Aces were led by 10 points from Jaylon Brown.
After Indiana State got within eight points in the opening three minutes of the second half, Evansville was able to turn back-to-back turnovers into four points as they opened up a 48-36 edge. Brenton Scott continued to bring ISU closer as his triple was part of a rally that saw ISU cut their deficit to 50-44 with 12:16 on the clock.
With under nine minutes remaining, the Sycamores got within a possession at 56-54 as Jordan Barnes connected on two free throws before Taylor responded on the other end to give UE a 4-point edge. Indiana State held UE to 1-of-9 shooting as they were able to take their first lead of the game. Jordan Barnes was fouled on a triple and hit all three free throws to give ISU a 59-56 lead with six minutes remaining. On the other end, Brown put the lead right back in UE’s hands with a triple of his own.
Six lead changes ensued leading to a 71-71 game before ISU hit a pair of free throws to go up 73-71. On the ensuing possession, Taylor connected from downtown to give the Aces a 74-73 lead with 70 ticks left. T.J. Bell put the lead back into ISU’s hands with an and-one on the other end to put the Sycamores up 76-74 with 35 seconds remaining. Brown hit a layup of his own following a time out give Indiana State one final change with the shot clock off, but a jumper by Scott at the buzzer fell short forcing overtime.
UE forced a turnover on ISU’s opening possession and on the other end, Dru Smith posted an and-one to give the Aces a 79-76 advantage. Midway through the extra period, Bell gave ISU its first OT lead with his jumper, making it an 81-80 ballgame. The back-and-forth play continued as Brown gave UE the lead right back with two free throws. The lead switched two more times leading to an 84-83 Evansville lead with under 30 seconds left. That is when Brenton Scott struck again as his bucket gave ISU an 85-84 lead with 12 ticks left. On UE’s possession, the ball got knocked out of bounds with 0.6 on the clock as the final chance fell just short on the in-bound.
