Trey Guidry led all scorers with 25 points Tuesday to lead Illinois State to a 77-58 victory over Evansville in front of 5,709 fans at Redbird Arena.
The Redbirds moved to 14-5, 6-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while the Purple Aces fell to 10-8, 4-6 in the Valley.
The Redbirds held the edge in field goal shooting, making 49 percent of their shots to the Purple Aces 42 percent. However, both teams were plagued by poor shooting early in the game as Evansville held a slight edge in field goal percentage at the intermission. The Purple Aces shot 40 percent in the first half, led by Andre Burtons 3-for-6 effort from the field. The Redbirds shot 39 percent in the first half thanks to Guidrys 4-for-8 shooting.
Illinois State took its first lead at the 8:05 mark when Guidrys jumper put the Birds up 11-10. Burtons lay-up as time expired cut into the Illinois State lead as the Birds held a 27-26 advantage at halftime.
The Birds extended their halftime lead thanks to the inside play of Lorenzo Gordon and outside shooting of Guidry. Gordon scored inside on Illinois States first two possessions and Guidry knocked down two three pointers as the Birds hit six of their first eight second half shots. Guidrys second three-pointer gave his team a 42-32 lead.
Later in the half, Nedu Onyeuku fed Greg Dilligard whose dunk gave the Birds a 54-41 lead. On the ensuing possession, Evansvilles Bradley Strickland was called for charging, fouling out with 7:51 remaining. The Evansville bench was then charged with a technical foul. Vince Greene calmly sank the two free throws and Guidry nailed a three to give the Birds their biggest lead of the night, 59-41.
Gordon and Alexander were the second leading scorers for the Redbirds as each chipped in 11 points apiece. Alexander led the way with seven rebounds. Lucious Wagner led the Purple Aces with 14 points respectively.
The Redbirds travel to Wichita, Kan., on Saturday for a Valley showdown against the league-leading Shockers. Tip-off is slated for 6:05 p.m.
Game Notes:
The Redbirds extended their streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer made to 161 straight, dating back to the 1999-00 season.
Illinois State went through a 27:35 stretch with only one turnover against Evansville.
