Jan. 9, 2007
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
Junior Levi Dyer poured in a career-high 20 points, and freshman Osiris Eldridge tossed in an additional 18, as the pair led the Illinois State men's basketball team to a 67-64 overtime win over Northern Iowa Tuesday night at Redbird Arena. The Missouri Valley Conference victory was the first of the season for the `Birds, as they downed UNI, who was previously undefeated in Valley play.
With the win, Illinois State improves to 9-7 overall, 1-4 in Valley action. The Panthers were led Eric Coleman and Brooks McKowen, both with 12 points, as UNI moves to 13-3, 4-1 in the MVC.
Tied at the half at 25 each, the first half between the Redbirds and the Panthers couldn't have been more evenly matched. Northern Iowa took an early 4-0 lead at 18:05 but Illinois State answered with a jumper from Eldridge and a trey from Dyer to take a 5-4 advantage at the 16:34 mark. The teams traded baskets for eight minutes until UNI took a four-point lead, the largest by either team in the first period, with 8:32 to play in the half, 18-14, courtesy of a Adam Viet three-pointer.
Hitting three straight jumpers, the last in the paint by freshman Bobby Hill, who finished the game with a career-high six points, ISU answered to re-take the lead 20-18. A Dom Johnson layup at the 2:29 mark put `Birds up by a single point, but Panther center Jordan Eglseder drained a free throw with 57 seconds left to knot the score at 25 going into intermission.
Northern Iowa took a 29-25 lead just over two minutes into the second half, scoring on consecutive offensive possessions. But the Redbirds responded with a Greg Dilligard layup, on a quick pass from Boo Richardson and a fast-break Eldridge layup to tie the game with 17:07 to play.
Dyer then scored the next eight points for Illinois State, burying two shots from the charity stripe and a pair of three-pointers. The `Birds led by as many as five in the stretch, 40-35, as the second media timeout of the half was called. The Panthers' Coleman tied the game at 43 on a put-back. But Dyer ran the length of the floor and drained his fourth trey of the game from the top of the key to give the Redbirds a 46-43 advantage.
The teams traded buckets for the almost six minutes before Dilligard blocked a layup on a Northern Iowa fast break at the 1:04 mark as Richardson drove the basket for an open layup on the ensuing out-of-bounds play to put Illinois State up by one, 57-56. After being fouled with just seconds remaining, Dyer connected on a pair of free throws to give ISU a three-point, 59-56 lead. But a McKowen, running three-pointer at the buzzer sent the game into overtime.
In the extra five-minute period, ISU's Johnson was fouled on a driving layup that fell with 3:41 left to play. Johnson hit the ensuing free throw, putting the `Birds up 62-59. Eldridge took over from there, scoring five of the Redbirds' eight points in the overtime to secure the ISU win, 67-64.
The Redbirds travel to Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday, for a 3:05 p.m. Missouri Valley Conference contest with Drake at the Knapp Center.
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