Dec. 9, 2006
Box Score
For the eighth straight season, Illinois State failed to win its Missouri Valley Conference opener as the Redbirds fell 69-41, at Evansville on Saturday at Roberts Stadium.
Evansville opened the second half with a 19-2 run, which included an Illinois State seven-minute scoring drought. The Redbirds, which fell to 6-3 overall and 0-1 in league play, were outscored 41-14 in the second half. Evansville improved to 6-3 on the season and 1-0 in the Valley.
ISU opened the game with a 15-8 run which included eight points by Dom Johnson. The Aces responded with a 14-0 run to take a 22-15 advantage with 10 minutes left in the first frame. During the spurt, the Redbirds were held scoreless for five minutes.
However, the Redbirds were able to close the gap before the intermission as Evansville was scoreless from the floor for over six minutes and the Aces held a 28-27 lead at the half.
Johnson was the only Redbird in double figure scoring with 11 points, while Greg Dilligard finished with six points and nine rebounds. Matt Webster led the Aces with 21 points, while Bradley Strickland and Shy Ely finished with 12 and 10 points respectively.
The Redbirds will have a week off to focus on finals and will return to action on Saturday, December 16 at Western Michigan. Tip off is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. CST.
