Nov. 7, 2007
Box Score |
Notes
NORMAL, Ill. -
Senior forward Levi Dyer scored a game-high 19 points to lead Illinois State past Quincy, 82-61, in exhibition basketball action on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Wednesday. Dyer scored 16 points over a 14-minute stretch spanning the first and second halves and also pulled down eight rebounds. The game was the exhibition debut for head coach Tim Jankovich and his staff.
Sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge recorded a double-double with 17 points, including 11 in the second half, and a team-best 10 rebounds, as well as handing out six assists. Senior guard Boo Richardson and junior forward Brandon Sampay were the other `Birds in double-figures with 10 and 11 points, respectively.
Illinois State turned defense into offense by scoring 33 points off of 21 Quincy turnovers and outscored the Quincy bench, 46-11. The Redbirds struggled from beyond the arc, missing their first eight three-point attempts and shooting 8-for-25 in the game.
Senior guard Andre Muse paced the Hawks with 17 points, all in the first half. Muse was 5-for-8 in the first half, including three three-pointers, but the Redbirds held him scoreless on just four shot attempts in the second half. Junior forward Jeff Wilson contributed 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Wilson also had five of the Hawks' eight blocked shots.
The Redbirds were 4-for-5 from the field to start the game and built a 9-2 lead. Quincy jumped right back into the game with a 10-0 run, highlighted by three-straight three-pointers, to take its first lead, 12-9, at the 14:32 mark. ISU took back the lead with three quick baskets, but Quincy held tough, never letting the ISU lead get any larger than five points. The Hawks tied the game on a deep three from the top of the arc by Muse, his third of the first half, on their way to a three-point advantage. Freshman guard Alex Rubin made a three from the left side to tie the game at 30 and snap a Redbird streak of 3:29 without a field goal. Dyer and Richardson combined to score nine points in the final three minutes to lead the Redbirds to a 42-34 halftime advantage.
Dyer came out strong in the second half, scoring 11 points in the first nine minutes of play on 5-of-6 shooting, and the Redbird lead reached double-digits for the first time, 56-44. Junior guard Brandon Holtz provided a spark off the bench with back-to-back three-pointers as the ISU lead swelled to 64-46.
Illinois State opens the regular season at home against Missouri-St. Louis Sunday, Nov. 14, at 1:05 p.m.
