Indiana State senior Steve Hart refused to allow SIUC ruin the last home game of his college career Wednesday night.

The Salukis seemed poised to do just that after trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half. SIUC took a 71-68 lead on a three-pointer by sophomore forward Chris Thunell with 58 seconds left.

But with his team trailing 71-70, Hart rebounded a Sycamore miss, put in the rebound and was fouled with 0.6 seconds remaining to give Indiana State a 72-71 win. SIUC had one final chance to win, but senior guard Shane Hawkins’ 30-footer fell short of the mark.

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Indiana State moved up a spot on the Salukis to sixth place in the Missouri Valley Conference at 8-8 and 14-10 overall. SIUC fell to 7-9 in conference play and 12-14 overall.

It’s always nice to have a group of young men that always battles back and has a lot of courage, and that’s exactly what we did today, Herrin said in his postgame radio show. We had an opportunity to win the basketball game with less than a minute to go, but Hart stuck one in at the gun.

SIUC could not get much done offensively early in the second half. The Sycamores took a 56-45 lead with 10:08 remaining on a dunk by Hart.

But the Salukis came back strong led by Hawkins. The senior from Pinckneyville scored 11 of SIUC’s next 16 points to give the Salukis a 66-63 lead with 2:32 left. Indiana State tied the game at 68, but Thunell’s three gave the Salukis another three-point cushion.

SIUC had a chance to add to the lead, but Hawkins missed a free throw and freshman guard Josh Cross fouled Sycamore senior Jayson Wells. Wells hit two free throws, and the Sycamores took possession again after Thunell’s pass attempt to senior forward Rashad Tucker went out-of-bounds.

Wells drove the lane for Indiana State and missed a short jumper, but Hart was there for the rebound. Hawkins’ last-second shot attempt for the win was short and no foul was called on the play although he was closely guarded by two Sycamore defenders.

We didn’t say very much in the locker room, Herrin said. It doesn’t do any good. All we’re trying to do is play Bradley (Saturday) and finish the season. The only thing that counts now is what we can do in St. Louis.

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The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament will take place in St. Louis Feb. 27 to March 1.

Neither team showed much defensive prowess in the first half, but the Sycamores came up big when they needed it. The Salukis drew within five points twice during the first half, but a three-point play by Wells gave Indiana State a 41-32 lead heading into halftime.

Hawkins led the Salukis Wednesday with 19 points. Tucker added 14, while Thunell and junior guard Monte Jenkins had 12 each.

SIUC plays the first of its final two home games of the year against Bradley University Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.