The Flames finally faced a foe from the Missouri Valley Conference in front of a home crowd Thursday night, but fell short to the Indiana State Sycamores (6-6,1-2), 59-48.

The Flames fall to 8-6 overall in the season and remain winless in conference play, dropping to 0-3.

They were led offensively by Danyel Middleton, who came off the bench throughout the game, scored 16 points, which is a season high and grabbed four rebounds. Ky Dempsey-Toney scored 14 and had six rebounds on the night also coming off the bench.


Right from tip-off the Flames found themselves struggling to land their shots, and the Sycamores took advantage. After regaining the lead after the first media timeout, the Sycamores pushed forward, shooting 31% in the first half. The Flames kept close however, shooting their game best, 50% from the field in the second quarter. They trailed the Sycamores, 26-20 going into halftime.

In the second half, the Flames kept close in the third quarter with the Sycamores lead remaining at six going into the fourth quarter. The Flames offensively continued to struggle in the last ten minutes, as they were outscored by the Sycamores, 19-14 when the final buzzer sounded.

The Flames continue to battle adversity as this was their fifth consecutive loss in a row during this stretch. They last won back on Dec. 4 when they defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats, 66-58.

Through the work of Middleton and Dempsey-Toney, the Flames bench once again outscored their opponent's bench, 30-15. This is the 12^th game that the Flames accomplished this feat this season.

Led by the work of Josie Filer on the boards (six points, 11 rebounds) the Flames also beat the Sycamores in rebounds, 47-32.

The Flames return back to Credit Union 1 Arena this Saturday when they host the Evansville Aces (6-5, 1-2) at home, tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.