NORMAL, Ill. – Three players scored in double-figures, and all 10 players that saw action scored at least two points as the Illinois State Redbirds out-lasted the Evansville Aces, led by star Ryan Taylor who scored a game-high 32 points, by a 75-71 score on Saturday afternoon.
How It Happened
The Redbirds jumped out quickly, scoring the first seven points of the game on a lay-in by Phil Fayne, two free throws from Daouda N'Diaye, and a three-pointer from Madison Williams, and the Illinois State lead grew to as many as 13 in the opening half after a Keyshawn Evans three-pointer pushed Illinois State's advantage to 25-12, halfway through the first half. The Aces fought back, and closed the half strong, shrinking the deficit to one at 34-33 at the halftime horn.
Evansville jumped out quickly out of the halftime break, taking its first lead of the game on a Taylor made a jumper eight seconds into the half, giving Illinois State its first deficit over the last three games – a streak of 100 minutes played without trailing. The Aces' advantage grew to as many as three, and the game was tied at 45 with 12:54 to play before Illinois State ran off seven consecutive points on a Taylor Bruninga three-pointer, an Elijah Clarance jumper, and a Fayne dunk. That two-minute run helped propel Illinois State into an advantage it would not give up for the remainder of the game. Despite the Illinois State lead standing as high as seven, Evansville fought back, climbing to within as few as two; however, the Redbirds iced the game at the free throw line, the final coming from Matt Hein with four seconds left, securing the Redbirds' third consecutive win.
Key Moment
Leading by three points with 15 seconds to play, Williams blocked a potentially-game-tying three-point attempt from Taylor, as Hein came down with the rebound, where he made a free throw to put the game out of reach for the visitors.
Inside the Box Score
- Hein scored a career-high 13 points, making 3-of-9 shots from the field, 2-of-5 from long range, and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
- Fayne recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, which snapped a streak of four consecutive games of which he missed a double-double by a combined six rebounds.
- Milik Yarbrough also tied for the team-high with 13 points, while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out a game-high-tying five assists.
- Daouda N'Diaye scored eight points with five rebounds, and a career-high-tying six blocked shots in 25 minutes of action. The six blocks tied his previous career high, which was set last season on January 29 against Evansville.
- As a team, Illinois State's eight blocked shots are the highest this season, and the most since March 3, 2017 when the Redbirds blocked 14 shots against Evansville in the MVC Tournament-opener.
- The team made 21 free throws in the game, the highest by the squad since the team hit 26 in an overtime win at Ole Miss on December 16, and the most in a regulation game since the team hit 28 in a 69-65 win over South Carolina on November 16.
- Evansville's Ryan Taylor scored 32 points, the most scored by an individual against the Redbirds since Sterling Gibbs scored 40 for Seton Hall on November 24, 2014, and the most in a conference game since Evansville's D.J. Balentine scored 38 in overtime on Feb. 12, 2014.
- Illinois State has trailed for just 4:50 over the team's last three games, the lowest-such total since last season's team had a stretch of three consecutive games (UT Martin, St. Joseph's, and Hawai'i) where the team trailed for 1:35.
Stat of the Game
100:08: A basket early in the second half ended a stretch of 100 minutes and eight seconds of which the Redbirds did not trail, as the team led wire-to-wire against both Valparaiso and Missouri State.
What's Next
Illinois State returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 8, when the Redbirds host the Southern Illinois Salukis in an 8 p.m. tip-off at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
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