Feb. 5, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
Sophomore Osiris Eldridge scored 11 points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, as the Illinois State men's basketball team holds a 38-29 lead after one half of play over the No. 15 Drake Bulldogs in a Missouri Valley Conference tilt Tuesday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
Illinois State got it going offensively to begin the game, as senior Dom Johnson provided the spark for the Redbirds. After Johnson hit a three on the Redbirds' first possession, ISU recorded a stop and Johnson found Dinma Odiakosa wide-open on an alley-oop, giving ISU a 5-0 lead and forcing Drake into its first timeout at the 18:57 mark in the first half. The Redbirds continued to keep the home crowd on its feet the next time down the court, as Boo Richardson found Anthony Slack on another alley-oop. Slack threw down a thunderous, two-handed slam, as the Redbirds went on an 18-8 scoring run to begin the game.
The Redbirds kept providing the pressure on the Bulldogs, as ISU kept making plays above the rim. After junior Brandon Sampay missed a jumper, Eldridge followed the shot with a two-handed tip-dunk, which gave ISU a 20-10 lead and forced Drake to use its second timeout with 12:40 remaining in the half.
Drake used its three-point shooting to get back into the ballgame, as the Bulldogs hit three shots from beyond the arc to cut the Redbirds' lead to three, at 24-21, with 8:11 left in the half. But the Redbirds used a 7-0 spurt to widen their margin back to 10 points, as Johnson hit his second three of the half to give ISU a 31-21 advantage at the 6:18 mark of the first. Illinois State kept the momentum for the rest of the half, and ended with a 38-29 lead at the break.
