Jan. 3, 2010
Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
NORMAL, Ill. - Senior guards Osiris Eldridge and Lloyd Phillips combined for 26 points in the second half, as Illinois State handed Southern Illinois its first Missouri Valley Conference loss, 68-61, Sunday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Phillips scored a career-high 21 points, while Eldridge poured in 14 points with 12 of those points coming in the second half.
Senior forward Dinma Odiakosa added 10 points and nine rebounds, while junior Tony Lewis brought down nine rebounds as the Redbirds (11-3, 2-1) improved to 2-1 in the MVC. Freshman Jackie Carmichael and junior Austin Hill each chipped in eight points to aid the Redbird offense.
With Sunday's victory, head coach Tim Jankovich captured his 60th win and improves his record to 5-0 against Southern Illinois at the helm of the Redbirds.
Thanks to 11 points from Eldridge in the first five minutes of the second half, Illinois State erased Southern Illinois' first-half lead and took its first lead after the break, 39-38. The Redbirds continued to push the ball and built a 12-point lead with four minutes left in the game.
Illinois State and Southern Illinois each made their first three shot attempts to start the game before the Redbirds took the lead on a layup by Odiakosa. ISU went on a 7-0 run and jumped to its largest lead of the first half with 10 points, but went scoreless for the next 5:34. The Salukis answered back with an 8-0 run, shrinking Illinois State's lead to two.
SIU took its first lead of the game with just under three minutes left of play in the half after a three pointer by Justin Bocot. The Salukis extended their lead to five points, going into halftime on a three-point basket at the buzzer by Kevin Dillard, and closed the half with a 19-4 run.
The Redbirds continue Valley play with a road trip to Evansville (Jan. 6), before returning to Redbird Arena for a match-up with pre-season favorite Northern Iowa, Jan. 9 at 3 p.m.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, TRC gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
