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Dan Muller Postgame Interview
NORMAL, Ill. – Quincy led for more than four minutes midway through the second half; however, Illinois State ended the game by outscoring the Hawks, 15-2, en route to a 73-63 victory over QU Friday afternoon on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell led all scorers with 18 points, including a season-best seven free throws. He also dished out a career-high five assists. Joining Akoon-Purcell in double figures were Paris Lee (14), Deontae Hawkins (12) and Tony Wills (11). Additionally, Hawkins and Wills each pulled down seven rebounds. For Quincy, Joseph Tagarelli netted a team-best 12 points. ISU (3-4) shot 22-for-47 (46.8 percent), while Quincy went 24-for-76 (31.6 percent) from the field. The Redbirds also outrebounded the Hawks, 44-40.
Illinois State went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc to start the game, with 3-pointers by Wills and Hawkins. After Godson Eneogwe scored Quincy's first field goal, Quintin Brewer built an 8-2 lead with a pump-fake layup. The Hawks pulled within 8-5, but a Lee 3-pointer extended ISU's advantage to six points.
With Illinois State leading, 13-10, Lee knifed through the lane for a layup despite being fouled to spark a 10-3 run, including six made free throws, lifting ISU ahead, 23-13, at the 7:46 mark. Back-to-back Quincy 3-pointers cut ISU's advantage to 23-19 with 5:57 remaining in the opening stanza. ISU answered again, this time with another 6-2 run to establish a 29-21 lead with 3:11 left, and the Redbirds led at halftime, 33-28.
Quincy started the second half on a 6-2 run to pull within 37-34 at the 18:11 mark before the Redbirds outscored the Hawks, 8-2, including an Akoon-Purcell 3-pointer and dunk and a Hawkins 3-pointer, to lead, 47-39, with 16:51 remaining. The Hawks stormed back, netting 10-unanswered points for their first lead of the game, 49-47, on a layup by Tagarelli at the 14-minute mark. Quincy extended its advantage to 54-51 on a 3-pointer by Evan McGaughey with 11:48 remaining.
The teams exchanged baskets for the next five minutes, before ISU scored six unanswered, including a Nick Banyard 3-pointer and an Akoon-Purcell jumper. ISU ultimately ended the game on a 15-2 run, holding Quincy scoreless for the final 4:39, to win by a score of 73-63.
Illinois State wraps up its stretch of eight games in 18 days to start the season when ISU travels to No. 1 Kentucky this Monday, Nov. 30 for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff, live on ESPN2.
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