Tarise Bryson led a balanced attack with 20 points and Illinois State connected on a Redbird Arena-record 34 free throws to win its fourth in a row in an 95-87 victory over Texas-San Antonio Sunday at Redbird Arena.
The Redbirds, 5-1, continued to use depth to their advantage. Eleven ISU players saw court time and 10 scored in the first 13 minutes. The Redbird bench continued to provide strong scoring with 52 of ISUs 95 points in the contest.
Devin Brown led the Roadrunners, 3-5, and the game, with 22 points. UTSA shot 54 percent from the field, but struggled at the foul line and committed 22 turnovers to just 10 for Illinois State.
ISU did not struggle at the foul line, hitting 19 straight during one stretch in the second half.
ISU led 45-38 at halftime despite shooting only 41 percent from the field. Five of eight shooting to start the second half opened the lead to 13 when Bryson drilled a three-pointer and followed with a layup to put ISU ahead 57-44 with 15:45 left.
Illinois State enjoyed a double-digit lead for all but 2:21 of the second half. The Redbirds twice led by 17 points and held a 16-point bulge on six occasions.
UTSA took a 21-20 lead at the 12-minute mark but the Redbird defense keyed a 15-5 ISU run over the next 4:30 to put the Birds up 35-25. ISU went 0-8 from the field over the next five minutes, but converted several Roadrunner turnovers to take a 45-38 halftime lead.
The Red Birds didnt commit a turnover until the 3-minute mark of the first half and finished the half with one. UTSA didnt make a free throw until 2:39 left in the first half after missing its first five, and was 4-10 for the half.
Shedrick Ford contributed 12 points for ISU while Shawn Jeppson had 11 and Rich Beyer added 10. Dirk Williams and Traves Wilson had nine points apiece and Randy Rice finished with a season-high six assists. The Redbirds put the game away in the second half by hitting 19 straight free throws and 34 of 42 for the game.
Shawn Jeppson, the leading free thrower in the Valley, missed his first free throw of the season after opening the season with 16 consecutive makes.
Illinois State puts its four-game win streak on the line against Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis Dec. 23 at Redbird Arena.
