Feb. 16, 2008
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -
Sophomore Osiris Eldridge poured in 22 points in the first half on 7-for-9 shooting from the floor, as the Illinois State men's basketball team leads the Indiana State Sycamores, 40-35, in a Missouri Valley Conference matchup at the Hulman Center Saturday afternoon.
Eldridge scored eight of the Redbirds' first 10 points, as Illinois State grabbed an early 10-2 lead and forced Indiana State to take its first timeout at the 18:01 mark in the first half. Eldridge hit back-to-back three-pointers during the spurt, causing matchup problems for the Sycamore defense. Eldridge continued his hot shooting, hitting another three from the left corner, as the Redbirds held a 15-6 lead at the first media timeout (15:48).
The Chicago native continued his opening stanza scoring barrage, hitting two more threes and adding a conventional three-point play, to give the Redbirds a 29-22 advantage at the third media timeout (7:34). Illinois State was able to utilize a 10-man rotation to build its largest lead of the half (13 points), after Anthony Slack hit two from the charity stripe with 2:56 remaining.
But Indiana State cut the Redbirds' lead to five points, 40-35, as the Sycamores put together a 9-1 run to close out the half. Aaron Carter led the Sycamores during the spurt, scoring three points.
The Redbirds' first-half total marked the first time that Illinois State has scored 40-plus points in the first half since dropping 42 in the league opener at Creighton Dec. 29. Illinois State also shot a sizzling 68.4 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from threes, while Indiana State shot 52.2 percent from the floor.
