Dec. 8, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Clutch shots from a bevy of Redbirds, coupled with Cincinnati's lackluster shooting effort, propelled the Illinois State men's basketball team to a 27-18 halftime lead over BIG EAST foe Cincinnati on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Saturday night. The nine-point lead was tied for ISU's second-largest halftime lead of the season, behind only its 18-point intermission advantage over Chicago State Nov. 27.
Senior center Levi Dyer led the Redbirds in the first half with six points, including two three-pointers. Sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge and junior guard Emmanuel Holloway each had five points, while senior forward Anthony Slack led the Redbird defense with four rebounds.
Cincinnati struggled throughout the first half to gain any sort of momentum, as the Bearcats shot just 28 percent (8-of-29) from the field and were only 2-of-7 from the charity stripe. UC missed all six of its three-point attempts in the first half.
Both teams struggled to score points early on, as ISU led by just one point (5-4) at the first media timeout (15:39). A three-pointer by senior guard Boo Richardson and a layup from Eldridge were the Redbirds' lone baskets in that time frame.
The Bearcats took their first lead of the game (7-5) at the 15:45 mark and then retained the momentum thanks to a charge call that went against Richardson. UC's lead did not last long, however, as ISU got the advantage back midway through the first half off a 9-2 run that was keyed by two-straight three-pointers from Dyer that helped put ISU up 15-11.
After a trio of made free throws that gave the Redbirds an 18-11 lead just after the 10-minute mark of the first half, neither side was able to score again until the 7:30 mark, when Richardson connected with Slack on a dunk that ended the Redbirds' scoring drought. Cincinnati went almost seven minutes without scoring a basket before it got back on the board at the 3:30 mark with a dunk that put the score at 27-13, Illinois State.
GoRedbirds.com will provide a complete postgame release of the Illinois State-Cincinnati men's basketball game, as well postgame notes and final statistics, following the conclusion of Saturday night's game.
