Jan. 7, 2011
Final Stats |
Notes
Post-Game Interview
Play-by-Play Highlights
NORMAL, Ill. -
Austin Hill was the only Redbird to reach double figures as Illinois State (8-7, 0-4) lost to Missouri Valley Conference leader Wichita State (13-2, 4-0), 65-51, Friday night at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
ISU lost its fourth-consecutive game, while the Shockers extended their winning streak to eight. Illinois State has lost back-to-back home games for the first time in head coach Tim Jankovich's tenure, and the Redbirds have started 0-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
Hill led the Redbirds offensively with 14 points, while Tony Lewis was ISU's leading rebounder with six boards. JT Durley led the Shocker attack with 13 points, and Toure' Murry collected a game-high eight rebounds. Wichita State outscored Illinois State 40-14 in the paint, and the Shockers outrebounded the Redbirds 40-33.
Both teams struggled shooting early, with Wichita State's Graham Hatch scoring the game's first field goal 3:18 into the contest, and Wichita State jumped ahead 5-0. Illinois State did not get on the board until Lewis made a free throw five minutes into the game, and the first Redbird field goal did not come until Anthony Cousin scored on a fade-away jumper with 14:34 to play in the first half. Although it took a while for the Redbird offense to warm up, Lewis' free throw and Cousin's bucket helped fuel a 9-1 run that gave the Redbirds their first lead of the game.
Illinois State built its largest lead of the first half on a free throw by Hill to put the Redbirds up 19-14 with 8:56 to play, but the Shockers went on an 18-4 run over the next 6:24 to put the Shockers up 32-23. Jackie Carmichael broke the Shocker streak, scoring back-to-back field goals, but Wichita State responded, taking its largest lead of the half on a three-pointer by Joe Ragland with 54 seconds remaining to give WSU a 37-27 halftime lead.
Jon Ekey cut Illinois State's deficit to eight, netting a jumper nine seconds into the second half. However, Wichita State put together another run, outscoring the Redbirds 11-2 over the next 5:21 to extend their lead to 50-32. The Shockers built their advantage to 22 with 9:33 remaining, their largest of the game.
The Redbirds return to the court Sunday, Jan. 9, at Southern Illinois for a 2:05 p.m. tip-off.
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