Jan. 5, 2008
Final Stats |
Notes
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NORMAL, Ill. -
Clutch three-pointers by senior center Levi Dyer, along with a stifling Illinois State defense, propelled the Redbird men's basketball team to a 56-47 victory over in-state Missouri Valley Conference foe Southern Illinois in front of 9,437 fans Saturday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Dyer drained four three-pointers, as the Redbirds avenged an 11-game losing streak to the Salukis and moved to 3-0 to start Valley play for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
Dyer led ISU (11-3 overall, 3-0 in the Valley) with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, to go along with five rebounds. Sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge was the other Redbird in double-digits, as he went over the 500-career points plateau with his 12th double-figure scoring output of the season, and his 10th straight, on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range for 13 points. Southern Illinois' Matt Shaw led the Salukis with 15 points.
The Salukis (6-8, 1-2) struggled throughout the game to get any sort of offensive momentum going from the field, as they shot just 18.2 percent in the first half and ended the game with a 26-percent mark from the field, the second-lowest field goal percentage by a team in Redbird Arena history.
The first half was dominated by Illinois State, as the Redbirds' produced a 31-13 halftime lead thanks to the trifecta of their stifling defense, a balanced scoring effort and Southern Illinois' inability to make a field goal for much of the stanza. ISU shot 50 percent for the half on 13-of-26 shooting.
Defense dominated the early minutes of the first half, as the tenacity of both team's defensive efforts allowed for just a 5-0 ISU lead four minutes into the game. Eldridge pushed the Redbirds' advantage to double-digits (11-0) at the 13:48 mark with a three-pointer from the right baseline. Six different Redbirds scored in the first eight minutes of the game, a feat that propelled ISU to an early 12-0 lead.
Southern Illinois' Randal Falker ended ISU's 12-0 run with the Salukis' first point of the game off a made free throw midway through the first half. The Salukis' offensive slump continued until the 3:58 mark of the first half when Wesley Clemmons connected on a short jumper just in front of the Southern Illinois basket to end a 0-16 shooting slump from the field to start the game. The Salukis then went on a 7-0 run that cut the Redbird lead to 28-12 with just 59.23 seconds left in the half.
After a rough first half offensively, the Salukis came out firing to start the second stanza, as they went on a 9-0 run that was highlighted by seven points in a three-minute stretch from Shaw that cut the Redbird lead down to 31-22 . Dyer ended Southern Illinois' run with a three-pointer - his second of the game - at the 15:09 mark that started an 11-2 run by the Redbirds and pushed ISU's lead back into double-digits (34-22). Dyer continued his torrid shooting from three-point range, as he drained another trey just before the midway point of the second half and pushed the ISU lead back to 20 points at 42-22.
Eldridge joined Dyer in the three-point shooting spree, as he connected on a three-pointer at the 9:27 mark of the second half for his 10th point of the game.
The Salukis dropped the Redbird lead down to 10 points (49-39) late in the second half, as they produced six-straight free throws by three different players in a two-minute span, along with two-straight three-pointers by Carlton Fay and Shaw. Southern Illinois continued to pressure ISU, and got within eight points (55-47) with less than 10 seconds left in the game. Late free throws by Eldridge and senior forward Anthony Slack were the difference-maker, as Illinois State improved its season-best winning streak to six straight.
Illinois State will continue its four-game homestand when it plays host to Valley foe Northern Iowa Tuesday on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Tip-off is 7:05 p.m.
