Second-Half Shooting Barrage Leads Redbirds To Win Over Missouri State

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NORMAL, Ill. – After trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half, Illinois State (7-7, 1-0 MVC) made 10-of-13 shots from three-point range in the second half against Missouri State (4-9, 0-1 MVC) to come away with a 74-61 victory in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Wednesday night.

ISU was 15-of-27 overall from behind the arc in the contest and the 15 3-pointers were the most for the team in Redbird Arena history.  The Redbirds shot just 32 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of play, but connected on a blistering 70 percent of their shots in the second half to pull away with league-opening win.

Deontae Hawkins was a career-best 5-for-5 from three-point range and scored a season-high 17 points to lead the way for the Redbirds. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell added 14 points. Justin McCloud tied a season-best with nine points, on 3-of-4 shooting from long distance, while Roland Griffin chipped in eight points.

The Redbirds jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the contest, but the Bears answered with a 13-0 run over the next five-and-a-half minutes to stake Missouri State to a nine-point advantage eight minutes into the game. A free throw by Akoon-Purcell at the 11:14 mark snapped a six-plus minute scoring drought for the Redbirds, but the Bears answered immediately on the offensive end with a basket in the paint by Tyler McCullough to widen the lead to double digits at 15-5.

Missouri State's lead grew to 13 points at 21-8, before the Redbirds answered with an 8-2 run to chip away at the Bears' lead at 23-16.  A 3-pointer by Hawkins and a layup in traffic by Akoon-Purcell got ISU rolling, and a 3-pointer by McCloud cut the deficit to seven points with 4:24 left in the first half. McCloud connected again from the top of the key with just under three minutes to play and Nick Banyard's trey extended the ISU run to 13-2 and cut the Missouri State lead to one at 23-22 with 2:31 to play.

A jumper by Jarred Dixon gave the Bears a bit more breathing room at 25-22, but McCloud nailed his third 3-pointer of the half on ISU's next possession to tie the game at 25-25. Dixon connected on the next Missouri State possession to give the Bears a two-point lead with 1:24 to play in the half. Both teams has opportunities to score over the final minute and a last-second shot in the lane by Akoon-Purcell rimmed out as the Bears took a 27-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Akoon-Purcell opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Redbirds a 31-27 lead a minute in, their first since early in the first half. The Bears answered with four-straight points to tie the game at 31-31, but Akoon-Purcell quickly gave the Redbirds the advantage again with a runner in the lane with 16:46 to play.

The two teams traded the lead several times over the next three minutes of action, before the Redbirds put together an 8-0 run over 1:07 to take a 47-40 with 12:34 to play. A 3-pointer from the corner by Hawkins and a jump hook in the lane by Quintin Brewer got it started and a three-point play on a drive by Griffin capped off the run. The Bears cut the lead back to five points on a jumper by Camyn Boone, but Hawkins connected twice from three-point range to stake the Redbirds to an 11-point lead at 53-42 with 11:25 left in the game.  

Following the second media time out of the second half, Tony Wills hit the eighth three-pointer of the half for the Redbirds and Hawkins later nailed his fifth of the game to extend the advantage to 59-42 with under 10 minues to play. A jumper by Paris Lee extended the ISU run to 16-0 and made the lead 63-42 with just over eight minutes left in the contest. Two free throws by MiKyle McIntosh made the run 18-0, and gave the Redbirds a 65-42 lead.

The ISU lead grew to as many as 24 points at 70-46 after a pair of free throws by Griffin and a 3-pointer by Banyard with 2:18 to play was ISU's 15th of the game, the most ever for the Redbirds in a game at Redbird Arena and the third-most in program history overall.  The Redbirds sealed the game at the free throw line down the stretch and secured the league-opening win over the Bears.

Illinois State returns to action Sunday, Jan. 3, on the road at Drake, with tipoff set for 1 p.m. from the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa.  

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