Trey Guidry led all scorers with 27 points, including 21 in the first half, but Illinois State could not sustain its strong first-half play and dropped its eighth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference game to Evansville, 85-74.
Illinois State, 1-15, 0-8 MVC, had a 41-33 halftime advantage and shot 52 percent from the field in the first frame. The Redbirds were outscored 51-33 and managed only 31 percent shooting from the field after the break . Vince Greene finished with 14 points, while Marcus Arnold contributed 11 points. Baboucarr Bojang finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Evansville, 7-9, 3-4 MVC, found most of its offense in the lane outscoring the Birds 46-22 in the paint. Ian Hanavan led the Aces with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Clint Cuffle turned in 21 points and eight boards. Evansville shot 64 percent from the field in the second half and made only four three-pointers in the game.
Illinois State returns home to continue its conference season with a match-up against Northern Iowa on Wednesday, January 29. The game is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start.
