FINAL STATS | DAN MULLER INTERVIEW
PHILADELPHIA – Illinois State outscored Saint Joseph's 15-3 to take a brief 22-21 lead at the 8:13 mark in the first half; however, the Hawks (8-2) responded with a 24-4 run to build a double-digit halftime advantage en route to a 79-65 victory over the visiting Redbirds (5-7) Saturday afternoon at Hagan Arena.
MiKyle McIntosh led four Redbirds in double figures with 16 points and seven rebounds. The Redbirds shot 40.6 percent (26-for-64) from the field and 23.1 percent (6-for-26) from beyond the arc. Five Hawks scored in double digits, including 16 points and nine rebounds by DeAndre' Bembry. Saint Joesph's shot 46.6 percent (27-for-58) from the field and 45.5 percent (15-for-33) from 3-point range.
SJU built an early 5-0 lead before a 3-pointer by McIntosh followed by a Quintin Brewer hook shot pulled the Redbirds within one point. The Hawks went on to build an 18-7 lead before ISU outscored SJU, 9-0, to pull within 18-16 on a Paris Lee steal followed by a DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell fastbreak layup.
The Redbirds extended the run to 15-3, taking a 22-21 lead on a Deontae Hawkins layup at the 8:13 mark. However, Saint Joseph's ended the half on a 24-4 run to take a 45-26 halftime lead. Saint Joseph's shot 50.0 percent from both the field and 3-point range in the first half, while ISU shot 36.7 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from beyond the arc.
After Saint Joesph's established a 62-33 lead, the Redbirds manufactured a 9-2 run to pull within 64-42 at the 10:50 mark on a Hawkins jumper. ISU later went on a 15-0 run to pull within 74-57, capped by an Akoon-Purcell layup. The Redbirds ended the game with back-to-back McIntosh 3-pointers to trim their final deficit to 14 points.
With Illinois State's two-game road trip complete, the Redbirds Return to Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena to host their non-conference finale Tuesday, Dec. 22 versus Tennessee State at 6 p.m. CT.
A newly-installed $950 thousand dollar state-of-the-art video board system will be unveiled during Tuesday night's game. Tickets can be purchased by visiting or calling the ISU Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 438-8000, or by navigating to GoRedbirds.com/Tickets.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
