Dec. 5, 2009
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NORMAL, Ill. -
Dinma Odiakosa collected his first double-double of the season and led Illinois State to its seventh-consecutive win, as the Redbirds defeated Central Michigan, 75-62 on Saturday.
Odiakosa finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and swatted a career-high four shots to move into eighth on Illinois State's career-blocks list. Lloyd Phillips finished with 12 points and Austin Hill tacked on 8 points as the Redbirds (7-0) shot 48 percent from the field.
The two teams started the contest with physical play and exchanged the lead four times in the first six minutes. The Redbirds went on a 16-8 run to close the half, including a buzzer-beating three by Osiris Eldridge to give Illinois State a 37-31 edge at the break. Eldridge, who finished with 13 points, became Illinois State's all-time leader in 3-point field goals when he hit the long trey.
Illinois State pushed its lead to as many as 10 points early in the second half with a balanced attack on the offensive end. Junior Alex Rubin had a career high 10 points for the Redbirds. Nine different Illinois State players scored in the game, including four in double digits. Illinois State established a presence on the boards and inside, finishing with 12 second-chance points and 26 points in the paint.
Robbie Harman led Central Michigan (3-5) in scoring with 18 and Marko Spica came off the bench to score 13. Amir Rashid (13) also reached double figures for the Chippewas. Jordan Bitzer, who averaged 12.1 points per game through the team's first seven games, was held scoreless.
Illinois State will take on Niagara next Sunday in a rematch of last year's ESPN Bracket Buster game. Tipoff is schedule for 2:05 p.m. CST at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill. Single game and season tickets for Illinois State's home events can be purchased by visiting GoRedbirds.com or calling the Redbird Ticket Office at (309) 438-8000.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, TRC gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
