March 19, 2008
Final Stats |
Notes
NORMAL, Ill. -
Sophomore Osiris Eldridge poured in a team-high 14 points and sophomore Dinma Odiakosa added 11 points, as the Illinois State men's basketball team defeated Utah State, 61-57, in the first round of the 2008 MasterCard National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Wednesday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. With the win, the Redbirds (25-9) moved to 16-1 when playing at home this season, and clinched their 12th non-conference win of 2007-08.
The Redbirds, who made their first NIT appearance since 2000-01, enjoyed solid play from seniors Anthony Slack and Boo Richardson, who each scored eight points apiece. For the 18th time this season, ISU held its opponent to less than 60 points, and improved to 18-0 in those contests.
Utah State (24-11) had four players reach double-figures, and was led by guard Jaycee Carroll, who scored a game-high 15 points.
Odiakosa scored Illinois State's first five points, but neither team was able to pull away in the game's first five minutes. After Utah State rallied to tie the game at 14-14, senior Levi Dyer entered the game and knocked down a three to give the Redbirds a slim, 17-14 lead at the second media timeout (10:58). Senior Dom Johnson and Dyer hit back-to-back threes after the media break, and Eldridge added another trey off a hesitation dribble, as the Redbirds put together a 12-5 spurt to lead, 26-19, at the 7:39 mark in the first half.
Illinois State continued to apply pressure on the Aggies' defense, as the Redbirds closed out the half on an 8-2 scoring run, backed by two-straight 3-pointers from junior Emmanuel Holloway. Odiakosa added a bucket during the spurt, a wide-open, two-handed slam, to give the `Birds the lead, 34-25, at intermission.
The Redbirds shot 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half, and held Utah State to a 1-for-5 (20.0 percent) effort from 3-point range. At one point in the stanza, the Redbirds reeled off 18-straight points from beyond the arc. The Redbirds' hot streak from 3-point land began after the Aggies tied the game at 14, and lasted until the 1:18 mark in the half.
After the Aggies cut the lead to four points to open up the second half, Eldridge began to take over the game. The Chicago native scored six-straight points, including an acrobatic, reverse lay-up as he was fouled, to push the Illinois State lead to double-digits at 41-30, with 14:55 left in the half. But the Aggies stormed back, courtesy of a 14-7 run, to cut the Redbirds' advantage to two points at 47-45 with 8:19 remaining.
Illinois State responded with a spurt of its own to bring the crowd back into the game. With the Redbirds leading by one point (49-48), Richardson picked the Aggies' point guard and found Johnson streaking down the court. It looked as if Johnson would stride in for an easy layup, however; Johnson layed it hard off the glass for a trailing Slack, who followed with a two-handed dunk. After the Redbirds recorded another stop on the next possession, Odiakosa found Slack on an alley-oop to give ISU a 53-48 lead with 6:41 left.
With the Redbirds leading 59-55 after the final media timeout (1:45), the Aggies responded with a bucket from Carroll. ISU wound the clock down, and after Eldridge's 3-point attempt was long as the shot clock expired, the Aggies found themselves with a chance to tie or take the lead with 31.0 seconds left. However, Carroll's three from the right corner went long, and Eldridge recovered the rebound with 17.9 seconds left and was immediately fouled. Eldridge sank both free throws, and Slack swatted back-to-back shot attempts to preserve the victory.
The Redbirds will host Dayton in the second round of the 2008 MasterCard NIT at Redbird Arena. A date and game time has yet to be determined.
