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NORMAL, Ill. – DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell scored a game-high 20 points to help Illinois State to a win in its third home game in six days, as the Redbirds scored a 72-56 win over visiting Houston Baptist, in front of 4,100 fans at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
Akoon-Purcell went 8-for-11 from the field and 4-for-6 from the foul line to total his 20 points. Deontae Hawkins added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds, while Justin McCloud pitched in nine points off the bench. Paris Lee chipped in six points and a game-high five assists.
Houston Baptist (1-3) was led by Josh Ibarra and Trey Patterson, who scored 10 points each. Ibarra led the Huskies with eight rebounds.
Saturday's game was Illinois State's final contest before heading to the Cancun Challenge, in Cancun, Mexico, where the Redbirds will play games Tuesday and Wednesday at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.
Houston Baptist took its only lead of the game at 4-2 early in the first half, before Illinois State answered with a 7-0 run that included five points from Akoon-Purcell. The Redbirds extended their lead with five-straight points from MiKyle McIntosh midway through the first half.
Illinois State (2-2) took its biggest lead of the half, at 25-16, after a three-point play from McCloud, with 4:19 remaining in the half. But the Huskies kept it close, and Asa Cantwell's 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer cut the Redbird lead to just two points, at 28-26.
Illinois State used a 7-0 run early in the second half, however, to restore its nine-point lead. Houston Baptist cut the lead back down to five, but the Redbirds answered promptly with a seven-point binge that featured a 3-pointer from McCloud and another Akoon-Purcell dunk, and gave Illinois State a 51-39 lead, with 12:21 to play. The run was part of a larger 15-5 run, that gave the Redbirds a 59-44 lead with 7:13 remaining.
The Redbirds took their biggest lead of the night moments later, at 65-48, with a pair of Hawkins free throws, 4:41 left in the contest. Houston Baptist never came closer than 13 points from the lead the rest of the way.
Illinois State will face No. 3 Maryland at the Cancun Challenge Tuesday, in a 7:30 p.m. game that will be televised live on CBS Sports Network. The Redbirds will play either Rhode Island or TCU on Wednesday.
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