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NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's basketball team was in danger of losing a seven-point lead with less than a minute to go, but Nick Banyard blocked the potential game-tying shot with two seconds left to give ISU a 54-52 win over Loyola Wednesday on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
The win gives ISU (9-7, 3-0 MVC) a 3-0 record in the Missouri Valley Conference for the first time since the 2008-09 season. After starting 3-0 in the Valley, the Redbirds have never finished lower than third.
Keyed by Earl Peterson's five early points, Loyola (7-8, 0-3 MVC) opened extremely hot from the field, going 5-7 during an 11-0 run to start the game. In the same span, Illinois State was 0-6 from the field with four turnovers. Down 13-0, MiKyle McIntosh got the Redbirds on the board with a free throw at the 12:39 mark.
With a balanced offensive attack against Loyola's zone defense, ISU began chipping away at the double-digit deficit. McIntosh's free throw was the start of a 13-2 run that cut the deficit to two with 7:34 to play and with 4:43 to play Deontae Hawkins pulled the Redbirds within one with his second three-pointer of the game.
A three-point play the old-fashioned way from DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell gave ISU its first lead, 22-21, a minute later and he extended it to 26-21 with a pair of free throws at the 1:42 mark. The Redbirds would carry the five-point lead into the half. After Loyola's torrid start, the Redbird defense recovered and allowed a season-low for points against in the first half.
Illinois State closed the half on a 13-2 run. Seven of eight Redbirds who played in the first half scored at least two points and ISU was led by Akoon-Purcell who netted nine.
The two teams traded baskets to open the second half and ISU led, 33-27. After both teams went on droughts that exceeded three minutes, Donte Ingram connected on a pair of free throws to pull Loyola within four. Devon Turk's layup cut the deficit to two, 46-44, a minute later.
However, ISU responded with a jumper from Akoon-Purcell and back-to-back threes from Nick Banyard to extend the lead to ten. The Ramblers were able to trim the lead to five by the under-four media timeout, and three free throws after the timeout made it a two-point game.
Paris Lee buried a three to put ISU back up by five with 1:45 to play and then sank a pair of free throws with 58 seconds left to make it a seven-point lead. However, the Ramblers would not go away, and a Jeff White three with six seconds left cut the lead to two, 54-52. ISU turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass, but Banyard skied to block the potential game-tying shot and secured the Redbird win.
The Redbirds scored a season low 54 points, but made up for it by holding their opponent to a season-low as well. Akoon-Purcell led all scorers with 14 points while Hawkins chipped in 13 and Banyard added 10. The Redbirds also hit seven threes while Loyola struggled from deep, finishing 3-21.
Illinois State will continue the MVC slate on the road Jan. 9 at Indiana State. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
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