TERRE HAUTE, Ind. Too many times this season, Troy Lefevra has had to watch an opponent celebrate a victory. The scene Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium was even tougher to endure than the previous six Indiana State losses this college football season. This was the final home game for Lefevra and the rest of the Sycamore seniors. And, to make matters worse, Indiana State lost in overtime, 40-34, to non-conference rival Western Kentucky. Its hard to go out like that, said Lefevra, a defensive end who had 11 tackles Saturday. And it was a Western Kentucky senior, Rod Smart, who sent the Sycamores down to defeat in overtime. Under the college tie-breaker system, the teams take turns trying to score from 25 yards out. The Sycamores went first, but mustered only eight yards in three plays and decided to try a 34-yard field goal. But the kick by Mike Megyesi, who had beaten Western Illinois earlier this season with a triple-overtime field goal, was blocked by Hilltopper freshman Bobby Sippio. There would be no triple overtime this Saturday. Western Kentucky (6-4) ended the drama immediately. Quarterback Jason Michael sent his option pitchout to Smart, who took off to the right, dodged and then outran the ISU defenders down the sideline on a 25-yard touchdown sprint. I just kept my balance and stayed in bounds, said Smart, who finished the day with 27 carries for 151 yards and three touchdowns. After that, there aint anybody (whos) going to catch me. Added Sycamore Coach Tim McGuire: A mistake was made. We were there. Our personnel was there. We just didnt convert. Smart, who topped 1,000 yards for the season, insisted the Hilltoppers never panicked. Nonetheless, there were several moments when it seemed the Sycamores (3-7) would be partying at games end in this battle of option offenses. In fact, three minutes before the first-quarter horn sounded, Indiana State was leading 21-7.An interception by Dietrich Lapsley had set up an ISU drive and touchdown run by Calvin Thomas. They drove 67 yards to another 1-yard touchdown run, by Jared Sessum. And then the Sycamores lightning bolt senior cornerback DeJuan Alfonzo struck the Hilltoppers with a 53-yard punt return for a touchdown. They had a couple of big plays, and things got going for them, Western Kentucky coach Jack Harbaugh said. Then came the second quarter. We couldnt put anything together, Lefevra said of those dismal 15 minutes. Thats for sure. Western Kentucky had 19 second-quarter first downs. The Sycamores had none. The last five minutes of the first half were the most troubling for ISU.Still leading 21-10, the Sycamores were one play into a drive when quarterback Sheraton Fox fumbled on ISUs 21-yard line. Western Kentuckys Ben Wittman caught Fox from behind and popped the ball loose. Hilltopper teammate Donnell Hamilton caught the fumble on the run and raced into the end zone for a touchdown with 5:07 left in the half. The Sycamores next drive died. And after offsetting penalties wiped out a successful punt by ISUs Kevin Dean, the Hilltoppers blocked Deans second attempt and the ball bounced out of ISUs end zone for a safety with 2:55 to go. Then on Western Kentuckys next play from scrimmage, Michael threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to WKUs Mr. Everything Alan Ogletree. We just keep giving up that big pass play, and that should not be happening, McGuire said. But it did. And in the span of two and a half minutes, the Hilltoppers scored 16 unanswered points. That game could have gone our way, McGuire said of the big lead ISU lost. We didnt push them off the edge. Instead, the outcome teetered on that edge the rest of the day. ISU reclaimed the lead briefly at 27-26 when Fox hit Marques Clayton on a 21-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. And the Hilltoppers took it right back at 34-27 on Smarts 44-yard touchdown run, followed by Michaels two-point conversion run. ISU got its final points on a drive capped by another touchdown run by Thomas with 2:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. But in overtime, the yards were much tougher to come by. Thomas ran for three, Sessum gained five, and then Fox was stopped for no gain, forcing Megyesis field goal try. I definitely thought we had the momentum, Fox said. It was our second (game) in overtime. It was not anything new to us. And all day, they hadnt been stopping us. Wed stopped ourselves. So I had a lot of confidence. Stopping Fox wasnt easy. Fox ran the ball 31 times for 123 yards and also completed 8 of 12 passes for another 111 yards. And he was playing sore, because backup Steve Englehart was sidelined with an injury. He wasnt alone on the wounded list. Before halftime, a sprained right knee sidelined defensive end Shannon Jackson, and strong safety Chris Sapp went out with a strained right shoulder. Later, defensive backs Robin Johnson (hip pointer) and Alfonzo (bruised sternum) had to stop playing. We knew we were coming in for a war, Fox said. Both teams run the same offense. The Hilltoppers, the nations fifth-ranked NCAA Division I-AA rushing team, gained 334 yards on the ground, as fullback Shane Ricketts added 104 yards to Smarts game-high total. The Sycamores, ninth on the I-AA rushing charts, totaled 278.Now all that remains for ISU is next Saturdays Gateway Conference finale at Southwest Missouri State. I dont think its really sank in yet, Lefevra said. Its my last time playing in front of crowd here. Weve got one more game to play, and we still want to go out winners. The Hilltoppers play at Southern Illinois, a team ISU beat 66-45 last week. Harbaugh left Terre Haute optimistic. I was impressed with our players, he said. They were down 21-7, and it seemed like everything had gone wrong. But they showed some good character and rallied and got back into it.