Dec. 1, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Backed by a combined 17 points from sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge and senior center Levi Dyer, the Illinois State men's basketball team is tied with Illinois-Chicago 29-29 at halftime from Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. The tied score marked the first time that ISU has been tied with an opponent at halftime this season.
Illinois State took its first lead of the game, 6-5, at the beginning of a 10-2 run that included Eldridge's 100th point of the season. Eldridge's 100 points came in ISU's seventh game, the fastest a Redbird player has reached the century mark for points in a season since Tarise Bryson recorded 100 points after five games to start the 2000-01 season.
Six different Redbirds scored in the first nine minutes of the game, led by Eldridge's four points on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting effort in that time span, as ISU went into the second media timeout (11:14) with a 14-10 advantage. A three-pointer by UIC guard Spencer Stewart and a dunk by forward Jermaine Dailey within a 20-second span just past the 10-minute mark in the first half pulled the Flames within two points at 19-17.
UIC took its first lead of the game (20-19) at the 6:35 mark of the half off a three-point basket from Jovan Ignjatovic that was part of an 8-2 Flames run. Once again, it was Eldridge who pushed the Redbirds back into the game, as he nailed a three-pointer from the top of the arc at the 3:11 mark to tie the score at 22-22. A three-pointer by Dyer with just 49 seconds left in the half extended ISU's lead to two points (29-27), the final lead the Redbirds held in the half.
GoRedbirds.com will have a complete recap of the Illinois State men's basketball game against Illinois-Chicago, including postgame notes and statistics, at the completion of tonight's game.
