FINAL STATS | GAME NOTES | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTO GALLERY
DAN MULLER INTERVIEW | JUSTIN McCLOUD INTERVIEW
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's basketball team held Northern Iowa to 29 second-half points as the Redbirds overcame an eight-point first-half deficit in a 76-67 victory on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Saturday afternoon in front of 7,103 fans during the team's annual Retro Game.
MiKyle McIntosh led the Redbirds in scoring with 18 points. Justin McCloud tied a career high by making five 3-pointers (5-for-6) for a total of 15 points. Paris Lee was the third Redbird in double-digit scoring with 16 points, he also dished out six assists and grabbed four rebounds.
Northern Iowa (10-11, 2-6) hit four of its first seven shots, including a 3-pointer each from Matt Bohannon and Paul Jespersen, and held a 10-4 lead at the first media timeout. Out of the break, McCloud came off the bench and knocked down three-straight triples to give Illinois State (11-10, 5-3) its first lead, 15-14. The Redbirds brought their total to five-straight 3-pointers after DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and McCloud dropped in two more from deep.
ISU grew its lead to 37-32 at the two-minute mark of the first half after the Redbirds made five-straight field goals. Then, UNI finished out the half by making its last five shots and went into the break trailing the Redbirds, 40-38. In the first twenty minutes, Illinois State's bench outscored Northern Iowa's 15-2.
The Redbirds connected on their seventh 3-pointer of the game when Deontae Hawkins drilled one just seven seconds into the second half. ISU proceeded to go 0-for-5 from the floor over the next three minutes, allowing UNI to tie the game at 43 points apiece. McIntosh and Lee ended the scoring drought by sinking back-to-back 3-pointers, extending their lead to 49-45.
ISU's defense forced the Panthers into shooting 0-for-13 from the floor over a nearly 11-minute period, which allowed the Redbirds to gain their largest lead of the game at 68-52. The Redbirds weathered a late run by the Panthers and defeated UNI, 76-67.
The Redbirds return to action Tuesday by hosting Drake on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. 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.
