FINAL STATS
DAN MULLERÂ INTERVIEW | PARIS LEE INTERVIEW
CHICAGO – After trailing by as many as eight points at the 14:20 mark in the second half, the Illinois State men's basketball team manufactured a 27-4 run en route to a come-from-behind 72-60 victory over Illinois-Chicago Wednesday night at UIC Pavilion.
The Redbirds (5-6) were led in scoring by DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell's 18 points. Playing in front of a hometown crowd, Chicago-suburban Maywood, Illinois, native Paris Lee totaled 17 points, including a 5-for-6 effort at the free throw line. MiKyle McIntosh rounded out three Redbirds in double figures with 14 points plus 11 rebounds to record ISU's first double-double of the season.
Defensively, Illinois State teamed up for a season-high eight blocks while also recording eight steals. The Redbirds shot 39.7 percent from the field and held Illinois-Chicago to 29.3 percent shooting, a season-low allowed by ISU. Dominique Matthews led the Flames (1-7) with 20 points.
In a first half that saw six ties and 10 lead changes, Illinois-Chicago pulled ahead, 5-2, with all five points by scored by Matthews. Illinois State answered with a 7-0 run, including a three-point play by McIntosh to lead, 9-5. UIC then outscored ISU, 6-3, pulling within 12-11 before taking a 15-14 advantage at the 9:20 mark.
After ISU grabbed a 22-20 lead on a Roland Griffin 3-pointer, UIC responded with a 7-2 run to take a 27-24 advantage at 3:41. A Nick Banyard layup with 2:31 remaining allowed ISU to regain its lead; however, UIC scored the final four points of the half to secure a 31-28 halftime advantage.
Akoon-Purcell made 1-of-2 free throws to start the second half, but a Paris Burns 3-pointer lifted UIC ahead 34-29. Illinois State answered with a 6-2 run, including Deontae Hawkins' first two layups of the game to trim Illinois-Chicago's lead to 36-35 at the 17:30 mark. UIC then answered with a 9-2 run to take an eight-point, 45-37 lead, the Flames' largest of the game.
With UIC leading, 47-39, ISU went on a 16-2 run – including eight points by Lee – to take a 55-49 lead at the 8:25 mark. ISU's defense held Illinois-Chicago without a field goal from 15:20 until 3:16, and the Redbirds extended their run to 27-4, establishing their largest lead – 15 points – at the 3:27 mark.
Now on a two-game winning streak, Illinois State stays on the road to face Saint Joseph's Saturday, Dec. 19 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 1 p.m. CT. A pay-per-view stream of the game will be available via the Atlantic 10 Digital Network (http://bit.ly/1YiQMj2). The game can also be heard on WJBC 1230-AM, 93.7 FM and GoRedbirds.com.
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