Feb. 4, 2006
Box Score
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Cold shooting followed the Illinois State men's basketball team from Peoria, Ill., to Evansville, Ind., as the Purple Aces snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 54-47 victory Saturday night at Roberts Stadium.
With the loss, the Redbirds remain winless on the road this season and fell to 8-13 overall and 3-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville improved to 6-15 and 2-11.
The Redbird offensive struggles continued in the first half (7-for-21), as ISU didn't crack the scoring column until the 14:39 mark on a basket by Nedu Onyeuku. Luckily, the Aces had only mustered three field goals of their own for an early 6-2 lead. With Evansville leading 12-6 and 12:33 left in the opening frame, the Redbirds endured another five-minute scoring drought which led to an 8-0 Aces run and a 20-6 advantage. The Aces led by as many as 15-points in the half, 25-10, but a pair of three-pointers by Michael Vandello and Brandon Holtz help cut the halftime deficit to 30-18.
Evansville maintained a 41-28 lead in the second half at the 13:10 mark, but a basket by Dilligard and a three-pointer by Levi closed the gap to 41-33 with 11 minutes left the play. Evansville stormed back with five straight points and took a 48-33 edge with 7:10 on the clock. The 'Birds countered with a 7-0 run, thanks to a three-pointer by Khalif Ford and four points from Onyeuku, and closed the deficit to 48-40 with 5:17 left.
Evansville's Webster and ISU's Ford traded field goals and Evansville held a 50-42 lead heading into the final media timeout at 3:42. The two teams were scoreless for over two minutes, until Webster tossed in a baseline prayer with 1:29 left, giving the Aces a 52-42 lead. UE sank a pair of free throws, while a trey from Holtz made the final seconds interesting.
The 'Birds ended up shooting 36.2 percent from the field for the game, while Onyeuku and Ford were the only players in double figures with 10 points apiece. Ford was perfect from the floor on 4-for-4 shooting, including 2-of-2 on treys.
Illinois State returns to action for the third and final game of the three-game road swing at Drake on Tuesday night. Tip-off is at 7:05 p.m.
