Oct. 17, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
Before taking the first steps to prepare for the 2008-09 seasons, both the Illinois State men's and women's basketball teams took a step back in time Friday night. Redbird basketball returned to Horton Field House, which served as the home court for ISU from 1963-89, as the two teams held a public scrimmage in front of 2,212 fans as part of the annual HoopFest event.
In the men's scrimmage, the ISU Black Team recorded a 26-25 victory during the 10-minute running clock session. Junior college transfer Lloyd Phillips led the winning team with nine points, on 4-for-7 shooting, while transfer Champ Oguchi led all scorers with 11 points for the Red Team.
Halfway through the scrimmage, the Red Team held an 18-11 advantage after back-to-back three pointers by Oguchi, but an 11-0 run by the Black Team provided a 22-18 lead with two minutes left in the scrimmage.
In the women's scrimmage, the Black Team consisted of the Redbird newcomers and sophomores, while the Red Team was made up of the upperclassmen. The Red Team erased an early deficit in the 10 minute game to top the Black Team, 19-16.
Kristi Cirone, Nicolle Lewis and Kenyatta Shelton paced the Red Team with four points apiece and Ashley Sandstead carried over her hot shooting from the three-point contest with a trey in the game. The Black Team was led by Shala Jackson, who had seven points, and Emily Hanley, who chipped in five points in her Redbird debut.
Earlier in the three-point shootout, the team of Cirone and Emmanuel Holloway led the first round with 15 made treys and faced the tandem of Sandstead and Landon Shipley in the finals. Sandstead and Shipley sank 12 three-pointers in the first round, but improved on that mark in the finals and downed Cirone and Holloway, 14-12, to claim the three-point shootout title.
The slam dunk contest featured Oguchi, the defending champion, junior Osiris Eldridge and freshmen Jeremy Robinson and Kellen Thornton. After three perfect score (50) dunks in the first round, Eldridge cruised into the finals to face Robinson, who totaled 129 points on his three dunks. However in the final, Robinson sneaked away with the crown downing, 89-88, over two dunks.
Both teams officially begin practice Saturday morning. To purchase season or single game tickets for Redbird basketball, please call the Redbird Arena Ticket Office at 309/438-8000, or visit GoRedbirds.com.
