Sophomore Marcus Arnold began his second season at Illinois State where his first one left off as he led all scorers with 18 points in the annual Red-White Scrimmage Thursday night at Redbird Arena, leading the White team to a 54-50 win.
The lead changed hands throughout the game, but Trey Guidrys 3-pointer from the left corner with 51 seconds on the clock put the White team ahead for good 52-50. Guidry added a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left to seal the win.
It was a good opportunity for me to evaluate both teams, head coach Porter Moser said after watching the game from the scorers table. I wanted to sit back and watch both teams. I didnt want to get locked up. We are 13 practices into a whole new system. That is a lot to throw at them early.
Moser also commented on the Redbirds improvement with team defense.
It is a lot harder to get to the rim on a half-court set with our team this year, because we are rotating a lot better, Moser added. It is harder to get into the paint because it is packed in. Our emphasis on defense for the first couple of weeks was noticeable.
Guidry finished with 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting. Neil Plank also added 12 tallies, while Chris Burras led all rebounders with seven, including six on the offensive glass.
Gregg Alexander and Najeeb Echols led the way for the Red team with 14 points apiece. Freshman Greg Dilligard showed some promise with a 5-for-6 effort and chipped in with 11.
Greg has been a pleasant surprise, Moser said. I put my arm around him after the first eight minutes and said Greg you are not a freshman. Youve played yourself into a roll where you are in the mix. You need to go out there and demand the ball like youve done in practice. The next play he went out there and got a basket. He was much more aggressive in the last 32 minutes of the scrimmage.
The Redbirds next game will take place on November 10, when Illinois State will host EA Sports in the first of two exhibition contests at Redbird Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
