Indiana State downs Missouri State at the buzzer

For the second consecutive game, Indiana won at the buzzer at home to knock off a fellow Valley contender.

Down 69-67 with just 4.9 seconds left on the clock, Jake Kelly took the inbounds pass and drove through the Missouri State defense, scoring and drawing a foul:



The officials went back and looked at the clock, determining that 0.6 seconds should be put back on. Kelly stepped to the line and knocked down the game-winning free throw as the Bears ensuing inbounds pass was stolen away.

With the win, Indiana State moves into a tie with Missouri State atop the Valley standing at 7-1. Wichita State, who lose at home to Northern Iowa tonight, is alone in second at 6-2 while UNI and Creighton are both 5-3.

If you remember, the Sycamores won on Saturday when Carl Richard tipped in a miss as time expired to beat Creighton.

There is still some concern about Indiana State. Four of their seven wins have come against the bottom three teams in the conference, they lost on the road to Evansville, and their other three wins -- UNI, Creighton, and Missouri State -- were all at home. Keep in mind, this team has also lost to Loyola IL, Eastern Kentucky, Ball State, and Wyoming. Its not exactly the kind of non-conference resume you expect out of a MVC contender.

The bad news is that Indiana State is just two games into a brutal seven game stretch in which they have to face Creighton, Missouri State, and Wichita State twice, with all three road trips still to come.

The good news?

They are 2-0 in those two games and in first place.

You can't really ask for much more than that.