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DAN MULLER INTERVIEW | TONY WILLS INTERVIEW
NORMAL, Ill. – Paris Lee scored a game-high 18 points en route to a 78-50 Redbird victory over Indiana State Wednesday evening on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, stretching Illinois State's winning streak to five-straight games, which is the longest of the season for the Redbirds.
Illinois State improved to 17-11 overall and 11-4, alone in second place, in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Redbirds shot 50 percent (28-for-56) from the field, and outscored the Sycamores 32-14 in the paint. Illinois State outrebounded the Sycamores 46-35. Deontae Hawkins and Quintin Brewer both grabbed eight rebounds apiece.
Lee led four Redbirds in double-digit scoring with 18 points. MiKyle McIntosh had it going early for the Redbirds, dropping nine of his 14 points in the first half. Tony Wills contributed with five assists and three steals.
Illinois State started the game with a 5-0 lead thanks to a 3-pointer from Lee followed by a backdoor layup from Wills. Illinois State never trailed from that point on. The Redbirds remained hot, with McIntosh and Hawkins hitting back-to-back threes. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell connected on a floater in the paint to give Illinois State an early 12-2 lead, forcing Indiana State to call a timeout.
Early in the first half, the Redbird defense held the Sycamores to four points for nearly two minutes. During that stretch, the Redbirds went on a 9-0 run. Hawkins, Justin McCloud and Nick Banyard sunk back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Redbirds a 17-point advantage. The Redbirds continued to pull away from Indiana State thanks to a trifecta from Wills with 7:44 left in the first half.
During a 4:49 scoring drought by Indiana State, Illinois State went on a 13-0 run, beginning with a three-point play by Lee on a layup and free throw. Seconds later, McIntosh kissed a shot off the glass, and Wills followed with a 3-pointer. The run was capped off by Hawkins who made a three to put the Redbirds up by 24 points.
As the first half came to a close, Lee drove into the lane past two defenders to make a contested layup, and the Redbirds went into the halftime break by leading 44-23.
Illinois State's 44-23 halftime lead was the largest for Illinois State at the break this season. McIntosh led all scorers with nine points at the half. The Redbirds outscored the Sycamores, 16-4, in the paint and shot 18-for-32 from the field and 7-for-15 from behind the arc. Indiana State was unable to execute in the first half making only seven of its 31 shots from the field and went one for eight from the 3-point arc.
Illinois State scored first coming out of the half with an Akoon-Purcell jump-stop floater at the 18:12 mark. Minutes later, Hawkins drove to the net for the layup to help the Redbirds reach 50 points.
At the 13:14 mark of the second half, Indiana State's Khristian Smith went on a 10-point scoring run. During his 10-point run Smith drained a pair of threes and threw down a baseline slam dunk. The Redbirds responded with a 3-pointer by McIntosh and a layup by Lee to put the Redbirds up, 60-40, over the Sycamores.
With just over six minutes to play, Akoon-Purcell converted a field goal off a turnover by Indiana State to put the Redbirds up by 24 points. Then, Lee and Akoon-Purcell both went 2-for-2 from the free throw line on consecutive possessions, which put the Redbirds up by 28 points, which is Illinois State's largest lead of the season.
With 2:26 left in the left in the game, redshirt junior Javaka Thompson drove to the basket to score a euro step layup, marking his first career points as a Redbird. In the final minutes of the game Justin McCloud sank his second 3-pointer of the game, Akoon-Purcell followed it up with a jump-shot from inside the paint to give ISU the 78-50 victory.
With the win against the Sycamores, Illinois State extended its winning streak to five-straight games to improve to 17-11 overall and 11-4 in the Missouri Valley conference, in sole possession of second place in the MVC.
The Redbirds will next travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to face Northern Iowa Saturday, Feb. 20. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT at the McLeod Center. Fans can watch the game live on CBS Sports Network.
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