ST. LOUIS (AP) – Indiana State found a way to top Larry Bird,
the school's most famous player.
The Sycamores made it to the NCAA tournament in consecutive
seasons for the first time in school history with a 69-63 victory
over Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament
championship game Monday night. The title is Indiana State's first
since 1979, when Larry Bird was a senior and led the Sycamores to
an NCAA runner-up finish.
|  | | Indiana State's Djibril Kante is swallowed up in a sea of celebrating Sycamores fans. It was the school's first MVC title since 1979. |
That was Indiana State's only NCAA trip in the Bird era.
"Maybe this is the one thing he couldn't get," forward Matt
Renn said.
Indiana State (21-11) made it to the NCAAs as an at-large team
last season after winning the conference regular-season title,
ending a 21-year tournament drought. This time the Sycamores made
it as the No. 5 seed, beating top-seeded Creighton in the
semifinals and getting 21 points from Kelyn Block in their victory
over No. 2 Bradley.
"This is not really an upset," Block said. "We knew we could
do this. I got going, and couldn't be stopped."
Bradley (19-11) got a career-high 20 points from Eddie Cage.
Jeffrey Rabey had 15 rebounds and Phillip Gilbert had nine points
and 10 rebounds for the losers.
"They obviously don't have a Larry Bird," Bradley coach Jim
Molinari said of Indiana State. "But they'll be a strong
representative. They played great."
This is the 25th MVC tournament, and Indiana State is the
lowest seed ever to win it. Creighton won as the No. 4 seed last
season.
Neither team figured to advance to the NCAAs without the tourney
championship, with Indiana State 89th and Bradley 92nd in the
latest RPI ratings.
Renn added 16 points and Michael Menser 15 for Indiana State,
which won despite missing six free throws in the final two minutes.
Gilbert hit a 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds to go for Bradley.
Cage topped his previous career high of 18 points earlier this
season against Creighton. Jerome Robinson, Bradley's leading scorer
with a 17-point average, was held to seven points on 2-for-9
shooting.
"I let my team down big time," Robinson said.
Indiana State made only two of its first 12 shots and Bradley
led 17-6 with 10:08 to go in the first half. But the Sycamores made
five straight shots in a 20-5 run that put them ahead 26-22 with
three minutes to go before the break.
Block had his first 11 points in that run and he added four more
in the final 12.7 seconds of the half to give Indiana State a 31-26
lead.
"We were timid at the beginning, then something happened and we
relaxed," Block said. "We started running our offense."
Indiana State led by as many as 13 points after consecutive
3-pointers by Menser made it 49-36 with 11:59 to go.
Bradley made it to the final for the first time since 1996. The
Braves last won the tournament in 1988, during the Hersey Hawkins
era.
"It's demoralizing to get that close and lose," Gilbert said.
"Toward the end, we just let it slip away."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Indiana State Clubhouse
Bradley Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Kelyn Block drives the lane then elevates for the contact and the basket.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Bradley's Eddie Cage misses the open layup and Michael Menser drains the 3-pointer on the other end.
avi: 1340 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Matt Renn splits the defense off the dribble and hits the running left-hander.
avi: 946 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Royce Waltman credits his seniors as the Sycamores win the MVC championship.
wav: 464 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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