Dec. 8, 2007
Box Score |
Notes
NORMAL, Ill. -
For the third time this season, Illinois State senior forward Anthony Slack posted a perfect shooting effort from the field, as the Redbird men's basketball team rolled past BIG EAST foe Cincinnati, 62-52, Saturday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. A crowd of 6,529, ISU's largest home attendance of the season, witnessed the Redbirds pick up their 11th victory all-time against a current BIG EAST member.
Sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge led all scorers with 20 points, including two three pointers, and a 10-for-12 effort from the charity stripe. With 10 points, Slack posted his seventh double-figure game of the season, while senior guard Dom Johnson recorded a career-best five steals to go along with nine points and four caroms.
The three-pointer played a crucial role in the game, as ISU recorded six three-point field goals for 18 points, compared to just one made trey by the Bearcats. UC went 0-for-8 from three-point range before it nailed its first three-pointer of the game at the 7:57 mark in the second half.
Following a nine-point lead at halftime, ISU pushed its advantage to 18 points, its largest lead of the game, at the 10:51 mark in the second half. ISU sustained a comfortable lead until late in the period, when UC began to nail clutch free throws and pulled within six points at 52-46 with just 1:56 left to play. A three-pointer from Johnson off a pass from junior guard Emmanuel Holloway at the 1:25 mark proved to be the deciding factor, as ISU pushed its advantage to nine points and secured the victory.
The Bearcats struggled throughout the first half to gain any sort of momentum, as Cincinnati shot just 28 percent (8-of-29) from the field and was only 2-for-7 from the charity stripe. UC missed all six of its three-point attempts in the first half.
UC took its only lead of the first half (7-5) at the 15:45 mark but was unable to retain the advantage for long, as ISU went on a 9-2 run midway through the period that was keyed by two-straight three-pointers from senior center Levi Dyer that put the Redbirds up by four points (15-11).
Following a Bearcat basket at the 10:45 mark in the first half, ISU went on a 12-0 run, which included four points apiece from Eldridge and Slack, to take a 27-11 lead with 3:38 left in the half. During the Redbirds' run, Cincinnati was 0-for-12 from the field and had three turnovers over a seven-minute, 14-second span.
Cincinnati finally got back on the board at the 3:31 mark, off a dunk from freshman forward Alvin Mitchell that cut into the score at 27-13.
After an eight-day break for fall semester final examinations, Illinois State will return to action Sunday, Dec. 16, when it travels to Bowling Green, Ohio, to take on Bowling Green State. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
