Matt Renn scored 19 points and five Indiana State players scored in double digits to lead the Sycamores to a 78-71 victory over Illinois State in the Redbirds Valley opener Saturday at Redbird Arena.
Illinois State suffered its second loss of the season, falling to 8-2 overall and 0-1 in league play. Indiana State improved to 11-3 and remains undefeated in the Valley with its fourth straight win.
Indiana State jumped to a 10-1 lead and the Redbirds were never able to get closer than five the rest of the way.
Michael Menser and Kelyn Block both tallied 17 for Indiana State, while Djibril Kante had 12 and Terence Avery 10.
Tarise Bryson led the Redbirds with a game-high 26 points despite spending Friday night in the hospital with the flu. Shawn Jeppson contributed 12 points off the bench and Dirk Williams scored 10.
The Redbirds failed to make a field goal until the 13:05 mark of the first half and were down by as many as 15 with 6 minutes left in the half. A three-pointer by Bryson and two connected free throws by Jeppson pulled Illinois State to within nine at the break.
In the second, Indiana State came out with a 9-2 run to extend the lead. Illinois State remained down by 13 with 3:21 remaining in the game but rallied to bring the gap down to five with twelve seconds left after treys by Williams and Traves Wilson.
Indiana State enjoyed a 43-35 rebounding advantage and canned 29-of-36 free throws. Illinois State made just 23-of-38 from the stripe.
