It was a case of too much paint for Illinois State's basketball team Tuesday night at the Assembly Hall. No. 9-ranked Illinois scored 36 of its 50 second-half points in the paint to cover up ISU, 87-73, before a sellout crowd of 16,500 people.
The Illini, playing ISU for the first time in 19 years, were able to spread the Redbirds' defense thin in the early part of the second half to improve their record to 9-2.
The loss dropped ISU's record to 4-6. The Redbirds complete nonconference play Saturday with a 7:05 p.m. contest at home against Kent State.
"They really exploited us inside," said ISU coach Tom Richardson. "They just pretty much manhandled us in there the second half.
"They got a couple of easy baskets and then it was off to the races. They are big and strong, but we've got to be able to give them a little bit of defense down there."
The Illini, which led 37-32 at intermission, made 21 of 35 shots (60 percent) in the second half.
"A lot of times we were out of position and they were able to drop the ball down inside on us for easy baskets," said ISU forward Dirk Williams.
All but five of the Illini baskets in the second half came from withiin four feet of the basket.
"We thought going into the game that they might (go inside)," added Richardson. "Combined with Frank Williams, they were just too much for us."
Williams finished with 29 points on 11 of 19 shooting from the floor, including a career-high four 3-point field goals. He had 19 points in the second half.
"You expect that from him," said ISU freshman guard Gregg Alexander. "He's stronger than us. He's an All-American. He's a great player."
The Illini used a 13-6 run in the first four minutes of the second half to open a 12-point advantage.
"They got more physical inside," said Alexander, who shared team-high scoring honors with Boo Bojang with 15.
"We came out a little relaxed and didn't take it to them like we did in the first half. They just pounded it inside on us and wore us down."
ISU managed to keep the deficit between nine and 13 points over the next four minutes.
Illinois then reeled off an 8-2 spurt that produced its largest lead at 71-51 with 8:32 remaining on a Williams 3-pointer.
ISU crept within 13 with 5:35 to go on a Dirk Williams tip-in, but that was as close as the Redbirds would get.
ISU led twice in the early moments of the game before falling behind 12-5 with 14:48 to go in the first half.
The Redbirds managed to pull within one on three occasions, and had a chance to tie the game or take the lead three times, but couldn't get shots to fall.
ISU trailed 25-24 at the 6:19 mark of the first half, thanks in part to a 13-9 advantage in rebounding.
The Illini then started pounding the boards and gained an 8-2 edge over the next four minutes to gain a 33-26 advantage on the scoreboard.
Illinois also went to a zone defense midway through the first half that proved to be effective.
"I thought we were playing with a pretty good rhythm offensively in the first half," said Richardson.
"The zone took us out of that rhythm. We were pretty lethargic against the zone and had some guys make some mistakes."
The Redbirds also were hurt by the loss of senior sharp-shooter Shawn Jeppson, who injured his knee at the 8:41 mark of the first half and didn't return.
Jeppson sprained his knee while driving to the basket. He will have an MRI test today.
"It's not an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), but it might be a MCL (medial collateral ligament)," said Richardson.
"When he went out that was a key. He's our best 3-point shooter.Without him in there, it inhibits our abilities when we play against a zone."
ISU shot 42 percent from the field and had only 10 turnovers. Illinois finished with a 38-37 rebounding edge, but ISU owned a 17-13 advantage on the offensive boards.
Junior center Andy Strandmark came off the bench to play his best game in two years, grabbing a team-high seven rebounds and scoring seven points.
Dirk Williams added 10 points and five rebounds. Casey Reid and Alexander also had five rebounds.
ISU was just 4 of 20 from 3-point range. Over the last two games, the Redbirds are 6 of 33 from 3-point land.
