Tarise Bryson scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half to lead Illinois State past Southwest Missouri State 63-62.
Illinois State, 13-3, 5-2 in the Valley, got a solid game from
Cedric Knight with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Randy Rice gave the Birds added support with eight points, nine assists (with just one turnover), four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Shedrick Ford, with 12 points, gave the Redbirds three players in double figures scoring as the Redbirds shot 50 percent from the field while winning their 12th game in their last 14 outings.
Redbird coach
Tom Richardson appreciated Knights efforts.
Thank God for Cedric Knight, especially in the first half, said Richardson. We really needed him to step up and he made some important plays tonight.
The Bears, 7-10, 3-5 in the Valley, were led by Charles Gaines with 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench. SMS lost leading scorer and rebounder Mike Wallace in the second half with a facial injury, but still out-rebounded ISU 33-29.
ISU took its biggest lead 51-42 on the second of back-to-back baskets by Ford, but SMS went to work starting with back-to-back Robert Yanders jump shots. The Bears eventually sliced the lead to 59-57 with 3:19 remaining on the second of consecutive baskets by Gaines.
We got out to lead by nine, but pretty much struggled offensively the last 10 minutes, said Richardson. They were making better plays down the stretch and probably deserved to win, but they missed a shot. If the game had lasted another minute, they probably would have won. Im happy with the win, but we have to get better from a defensive standpoint and a rebounding standpoint.
Shawn Jeppson s layup off a Rice pass gave ISU a 61-57 lead. Robert Yanders buried a desperation three against the shot clock to cut the lead to 61-60 with 2:13 left. Bryson hit a pair of free throws to extend the ISU lead to three with 2:04 remaining.
Daniel Novaks steal and dunk with 53 seconds left sliced the lead to 63-62. Rices shot rimmed out with 18 seconds left and SMS played for the last shot without a time out, but Yanders missed a shot in the lane and Gaines missed a tip attempt as time expired.
SMS coach Barry Hinson liked the way his team played the final possession.
We got exactly what we wanted, a shot in the paint and an offensive rebound, said Hinson. We did a good job on Bryson in the first half and let him get away from us in the second half.
Southwest Missouri State broke to a 21-11 lead in the first 12 minutes thanks to five second-chance baskets. But Illinois State went on a 13-2 run to take the lead with Rice and Knight scoring four points each. The Bears had nine offensive rebounds at halftime, but ISU countered with 12-27 shooting to SMSs 11-31.
Rices layup with 53 seconds left gave ISU a 28-26 halftime lead despite surrendering 13 SMS second-chance points. Rice also hit a layup to start the second half. ISU stretched that lead to 40-33 on
Traves Wilson s layup off a Bryson assist.
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