Nov. 14, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
In a half that featured back-and-forth scoring, the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks closed the first period on a 10-1 run to take a 46-44 lead into half time over the Illinois State men's basketball team in the first round of the Chicago Invitational Challenge Wednesday night at Redbird Arena.
After the Redhawks hit 3-of-4 three pointers to open up the game, the Redbird offense picked up, as ISU went on 9-0 run to take 22-16 lead at the 11:48 mark in the first half. Junior Emmanuel Holloway made an immediate impact off the bench, scoring five points to spark the Redbirds' spurt. Sophomore Osiris Eldridge also got the offense rolling, as the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year scored nine of ISU's first 13 points.
But the Redhawks were able to close the gap, putting together an 8-0 run to re-take the lead, 29-28, after center Will Bogan hit two free throws with 7:03 left in the half. Bogan led SEMO during the run, scoring four points. However, the `Birds climbed back into the driver's seat, as Eldridge's shooting touch along with his full court vision put the Redbird ahead, 41-36. Eldridge made an acrobatic move as he was driving to the hoop and passed behind his head to Dom Johnson waiting on the wing. Johnson kicked out to Brandon Holtz on the top of the key, and he nailed the trey to put the `Birds back in control.
However, SEMO went on another run, closing out the half on a 10-1 spurt to take a 46-44 lead into the locker room. Eldridge paced the `Birds throughout the half, scoring 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Eldridge's 16 tallies set a new career-high for points in the first-half.
