Gregg Alexander broke the Illinois State freshman record for three-point field goals in a season, but missed ISU foul shots and Wichita States inside muscle helped the Shockers avenge an 81-71 loss Jan. 7 in Normal by beating the Redbirds 77-66 Wednesday in a Missouri Valley Conference basketball game at Henry Levitt Arena.
The Redbirds, 14-13 overall, 10-6 in the Valley, were No. 3 in the nation in free throw percentage at the games start. They slumped to just 8 of 16 from the stripe in losing just their second game in the last 10. Shawn Jeppson led the Redbirds with 16 points.
WSU, 14-13, 8-8 in the Valley, avenged an 81-71 loss Jan. 7 in Normal thanks to Troy Macks toughness in the second half. Scoring 15 of his game-high points in the final 20 minutes, Mack included 9-11 free throws as the Shockers hit 17 of 23 from the line while winning for the seventh time in eight league home games. WSU out-rebounded the Birds 32-24 as ISUs Baboucarr Bojang and Wichita States Jamar Howard collected 8 apiece.
Alexander needed just one three-pointer to pass
Dan Muller for the Illinois State freshman record for treys. He took care of that early, draining back-to-back three-point shots to log the first six points for the Birds, who led 6-2 early. Alexander now holds the record with 52, including his 3 against the Shockers.
We played offense probably well enough to win, but our interior defense just wasnt there. They got inside, they drove the ball, they shot more free throws and they were more aggressive than us, said Richardson, whose team shot 49 percent from the field and made 8 of 19 three-pointers. They scored at will inside.
The Birds saw a 27-23 lead dissolve into a 32-27 Shocker edge as WSU went on a 9-0 run from 6:35 to 3:39 remaining in the first half. Bojang ended the ISU dry spell with a bank shot with 3:02 left. Randy Rice followed with a jumper to cut that lead to 32-31 2:40 before halftime. Rice, with all 9 of his points in the first half, dropped in two driving shots to put ISU up 35-34 with 14 seconds left, but C.C. McFall beat the buzzer and WSU led 36-35 at intermission. The Birds never led again.
With Andy Strandmark lost to four fouls early in the second half and Dirk Williams out with a foot injury, the beefy Mack went after the Birds in the paint in the second half, scoring six points in three minutes as WSU opened up a 45-40 lead. Chad Mazanowski came off the bench to help the Birds stay close, scoring six points in eight minutes to help the Birds draw within 51-50. Mazanowski pulled the Redbirds even at 58-58 with a hoop on a goaltending cal1, but Randy Burns field goal with 6:15 left began a 9-1 Shocker run to put WSU safely ahead.
Illinois State plays its final regular-season road game Saturday at Northern Iowa before returning home to close the regular season Monday against Evansville.
