PEORIA, Ill. – The Illinois State Redbirds got 25 points from senior Milik Yarbrough, and 17 points and six rebounds from Phil Fayne, but a hot-shooting night by the Bradley Braves propelled the hosts to an 85-68 MVC win on Wednesday evening.
How It Happened
Illinois State came out firing, getting a three-point play by Yarbrough, a three-pointer by Keyshawn Evans, and a three-pointer by Yarbrough to jump out to a 9-2 lead two minutes into the contest. A second three-pointer by Evans put the Redbirds on top 12-8, as the ISU offense hit a cold patch, going four minutes without a point. During that four-minute span Bradley took a lead at 16-12, and never trailed again in the game. With ISU trailing by three points after a Yarbrough jumper, Bradley ran off eight consecutive points to push the margin to double-digits, as Bradley then closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a 17-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
The margin reached its high point with 17:15 to play in the game when the Bradley advantage reached 22 points after a Luuk van Bree three-pointer, before the Redbirds began to chip away at the deficit. ISU used a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 17, and it remained at 17 with 11:14 to play before the visitors ran off a 14-2 run to close to within five after an Evans four-point play. A Hein jumper on the next possession closed the gap to four; however, back-to-back three-pointers by Bradley pushed the lead back to double digits, as the hosts closed strong late in the 17-point loss.
Key Moment
Back-to-back Bradley three-pointers by Darrell Brown and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye pushed a four-point Brave lead to 10.
Inside the Box Score
- Yarbrough scored a game-high 25 points, making 9-of-16 shots from the field and 6-of-7 shots from the charity stripe.
- Fayne scored 17 points with a team-high six rebounds, while making 7-of-8 free throws.
- Evans made 4-of-7 of his shots from long range, while also converting on his only free throw try. He added five rebounds and an assist.
- Zach Copeland scored six points but had five assists, four steals and three rebounds.
- Illinois State committed just eight turnovers in the game against 13 assists.
Stat of the Game
Bradley – who came into the game shooting above .400 in a game from three-point range just twice this season – made a season-high 10 three-pointers and converted on 58.8 percent of its long-range tries.
What's Next
The Redbirds get back to the court on Sunday, Jan. 27 when the team hosts the Sycamores of Indiana State University in a 1 p.m. tip-off on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
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