Baboucarr Bojang had 20 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and Illinois State tied a Redbird Arena record by allowing Central Michigan just 14 points in the first half as the Redbirds beat the Chippewas 72-63 in non-conference college basketball Sunday at Redbird Arena.
The stellar defensive effort matched a 14 point half by Chicago State Nov. 25, 2000 at Redbird Arena, but CMU responded with a 49-point second half and chased the Birds all the way to the final buzzer.
Shedrick Ford added 15 points and Vince Greene had 11 for the Redbirds, 4-4, who shot a season-best 52.4 percent from the field for the game, including Bojangs 8-for-8 efforts, which ties for No. 5 in Redbird Arena history for field goal perfection. His 20 points matched his career high and the 13 rebounds a career best.
The Redbirds had a 35-26 rebounding edge and made 25 of 32 free throws, including 16 of 21 in the second half.
T.J. Meermans jump shot cut the ISU lead to 12-10 with 9:27 left when the Redbird defense took over. Nine empty trips for CMU resulted in six layups and a dunk at the Redbird end as Illinois State scored 14 unanswered points.
The Chips, 3-4, stopped the bleeding on a J.R. Wallace bank shot with 3:16 left for the Chips, but Greene drained four free throws in the final three minutes as the Redbirds headed to the locker room up 36-14. Bojang had 11 points, including all five of his field goals--four layups and a dunk. Twelve of the 36 ISU first-half points came off turnovers and 16 of them came inside the paint. The Chippewas made just 2 of their last 13 field goals and had seven turnovers in the final nine minutes as ISU hit CMU with a 24-4 run to end the half.
In the first half, we were terrific on both ends of the court, said Richardson. We came out and built ourselves a lead and, in the second half, we got a little worried, but we hung on and made our free throws and thats something we do well.
Bojang agreed.
It starts with defense and pressure on the ball, said Bojang of the Redbird run. We worked hard all week on defense and that was what got us going today.
David Webber, CMUs leading scorer at 15.8 points per game, missed all six of his first-half shots. But Webber hit an early three-pointer and an ally-oop layup as the Chippewas began to pare the Redbird lead in the second half. Turning the defensive tables on Illinois State, the Chippewas forced 14 second-half turnovers. Webber scored all 16 of his points in the second half to lead CMU.
Whitney Robinson had 12 points, 5 assists and 6 steals for CMU before fouling out in the second half and Chad Pleiness added 15 points.
The Chippewas closed to within seven twice in the final minute, but no closer. ISU won its second game in as many days, having beaten Samford 65-54 on Saturday. Led by Greene, the four-player Redbird reserve squad provided important minutes in addition to 21 of ISUs 72 points.
Illinois State plays Saturday at Chattanooga.
