Feb. 13, 2008
Box Score |
Notes
NORMAL, Ill. -
Sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge, the Missouri Valley Conference's second-leading scorer, poured in 24 points to lead Illinois State (18-7, 10-4 MVC) to a 69-57 win over visiting Missouri State on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Wednesday night. With the win, the Redbirds clinched their first season sweep over the Bears since the 2000-01 season.
Eldridge, who was 5-of-9 from three point land, led two Redbirds in double figures, as Anthony Slack recorded his fourth double-double on the season on a 17-point, 10-rebound performance.
Missouri State (12-14, 5-9 MVC) was led by Deven Mitchell and Justin Fuehrmeyer, who each scored a team-high 12 points.
Illinois State jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the opening stages behind Eldridge and Dom Johnson's three points apiece. But MSU answered with a 5-0 spurt to tie the game at 8-8 at the first media timeout (15:42). Fuehrmeyer had two three-pointers in the stretch for the Bears.
The Redbirds built as large as a six-point lead twice in the ensuing four minutes, but Missouri State answered with a 9-3 run, capped off by seven-consecutive points by Dale Lamberth, to take a 21-18 lead, before Eldridge's three-pointer tied the score at the ensuing media timeout (7:58). ISU forced the Bears into their second timeout just under three minutes later (4:45), after stringing together a 9-0 spurt to take a 30-21 lead. Eldridge had two treys in the stretch.
Missouri State's scoring draught lasted five minutes and 47 seconds, before Shane Laurie's three-pointer cut the lead to 30-24 with 3:17 left in the first half. Brandon Sampay helped the Redbirds build their largest lead, 13 points, at halftime by scoring the final six points of the stanza. Sampay started the flurry with back-to-back free throws, and added two-consecutive put-backs, as the second fell through the hoop as time expired.
The Redbirds owned a 19-15 first half rebounding advantage, and shot 46.7 percent, compared to MSU's 35.7 percent shooting mark.
ISU opened the second half on a 9-2 spree, and it took its largest lead of 19 points, 47-28, after a put-back by Slack. MSU trimmed the advantage to 47-32, but Eldridge's three-pointer gave the Redbirds a 50-32 advantage at the stanza's first media timeout (14:18). ISU's lead grew to 20 points (54-34) with 12:51 remaining after Eldridge stole an entry pass, and went coast-to-coast for an acrobatic layup. Both teams traded baskets over the next five and a half minutes, and the Redbirds owned a 62-43 lead at the half's third media timeout (7:29).
The Redbirds called their first timeout of the second half with 6:03 remaining, after MSU completed a 5-0 run. Mitchell had three points, and Drew Richards had his first field goal in the spurt. The Bears cut the lead to 12 points twice in the ensuing 3:47, but Johnson scored following a steal after two missed free throws by Richards, and pushed the lead back to 67-53 with 3:44 left.
ISU maintained its lead for the final three minutes of the game to preserve the victory.
Illinois State will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday for the second game of the home-and-away series against Indiana State. Tip-off from the Hulman Center is set for 1:05 p.m.
