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Postgame Notes | DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell Postgame Interview
NORMAL, Ill. – DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell came through in a pressure-packed situation Monday night, as his driving layup with 0.7 seconds remaining propelled the Illinois State men's basketball team to a 67-66 win over visiting Morehead State in the Redbirds' home opener in front of 4,698 fans at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
Morehead State's Miguel Dicent had given the visiting Eagles a one-point lead with a 3-pointer with six seconds left on the clock, but Akoon-Purcell scored the game-winner seconds later, taking an inbounds pass near the halfcourt line and knifing through the Morehead State defense to get to the basket.
Akoon-Purcell led Illinois State (1-1) with a game-high 23 points, one shy of his career high. Deontae Hawkins added 15 points, while Paris Lee contributed nine points, four steals and seven assists, which tied a career high.
Morehead State (1-1) was led by Xavier Moon, who scored a team-high 18 points. DeJuan Marrero added 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Illinois State got off to a strong start, using an 8-0 run that featured back-to-back 3-pointers from Hawkins and MiKyle McIntosh, to take an 8-2 lead early in the first half. Morehead State used a seven-point run, however, to tie the game at 16-16, at the 8:48 mark, as the Redbirds suffered through a scoring drought of nearly four minutes.
The Redbirds boosted their lead back to five points, at 28-23, with a Tony Wills tip-in with 3:41 remaining in the half, but the Eagles trimmed the Redbird lead to just one, at 32-31, by halftime.
A layup from Lee gave the Redbirds a three-point lead in the first minute of the second half, but Morehead State tied the game moments later, and built a lead that reached as many as nine points, at 50-41, after a 3-pointer from Moon with 14:54 to play.
The Redbirds started to chip away at the lead, however, using a 7-0 run that started at the 6:46 mark with a pair of Hawkins free throws. Akoon-Purcell cut the Morehead State lead to one point, with 5:43 remaining, on a one-handed dunk, and then gave the Redbirds the lead with a 3-pointer just 31 seconds later.
Morehead State reclaimed the lead seconds later on two free throws from Treshaad Williams, but Illinois State took the lead, at 64-63, with a short jumper from Hawkins with 1:08 to play. Lee made 1-of-2 free throws with 23 seconds remaining to give the Redbirds a two-point advantage, but Dicent's 3-pointer with six seconds to play gave the visitors a one-point lead.
Needing to go the length of the court, Wills' ensuing inbounds pass found Akoon-Purcell at the halfcourt line. Akoon-Purcell then deftly navigated through defenders to score the game-winning basket.
Illinois State returns to action Thursday, with a 7 p.m. game against South Dakota State at Redbird Arena, as part of the upcoming Cancun Challenge. The Redbirds will also host Houston Baptist Saturday before beginning play at the Cancun Challenge, in Cancun, Mexico, against No. 3 Maryland, on Nov. 24.
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