A 15-1 run by Evansville over the last 8:48 of the first half keyed the Purple Aces 79-48 victory over Illinois State Wednesday at Robert Stadium.
The Redbirds last field goal of the opening stanza came with nearly nine minutes left in the period. After that, Evansville went on its decisive run to go up by 19 at halftime. The Purple Aces never looked back after that, pushing their lead to 36 points at one point in the second half.
Illinois State falls to 6-15 overall and 2-11 in the Valley, while Evansville ups its record to 5-16 and 4-9 in the conference.
Evansvilles Clint Cuffle led all scorers with 21 points, 14 of them in the first half. He scored 8 points in Evansvilles critical run before intermission.
Najeeb Echols, who made eight of 13 free throws, led Illinois State with 16 points. Gregg Alexander chipped in 12, while Greg Dilligard made all five of his field goals for 10 points. Illinois State shot just 29.8 percent from the field, while allowing the Purple Aces to shoot at a 54.4 percent clip.
The Redbirds return to action Saturday at Redbird Arena with a match-up against Indiana State at 2 p.m.
