NORMAL, Ill.  – Illinois State senior Phil Fayne became the 44th member of the Redbird men's basketball program's 1,000-point club on Saturday afternoon, as he scored a game-high 20 points, and ISU picked up a 58-46 Missouri Valley Conference win.
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How It Happened
Evansville jumped out to a 10-6 lead with 16:09 to play; however, the Redbirds answered with a 9-0 run, holding the Aces off of the scoreboard for a six-minute span. That run propelled the Redbirds into a lead that the hosts would not give up for the rest of the contest. The first-half ISU lead grew to as many as six and stood at four heading into the break at halftime after a Zach Copeland jumper late in the period.
The ISU lead was trimmed to two early in the second half, before ISU once again used strong defense to hold the Aces nearly three minutes without a field goal, while pushing the lead to five, five minutes into the second period. After the Redbird advantage grew to seven, Evansville got six points over back-to-back possessions on three free throws and a made three-pointer by Evan Kuhlman. Five straight points by Copeland gave ISU a six-point cushion, as the Redbirds gradually pushed its lead to as many as 15 on a lay-in by Fayne with 2:46 to play that put the senior in the illustrious list.
Key Moment
ISU's six-minute defensive stretch in the first half in which the Redbirds held the Aces scoreless helped turn a four-point Evansville lead into a three-point ISU lead which it would not give up again in the game.
Inside the Box Score
- Fayne scored a game-high 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and is his 11th consecutive game scoring in double-digits. Fayne also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.
- Milik Yarbrough scored 13 points, which he paired with a dozen rebounds and seven assists. He also added two steals and had just two turnovers in the team's win.
- Copeland scored 11 points, making 4-of-9 shots from the field. He pulled down six rebounds – one off of his career-high and dished out four assists against zero turnovers.
- Keyshawn Evans scored nine points, making three three-point field goals.
Stat of the Game
Illinois State had a +10 assist-to-turnover margin, just the second time since 2012-13 that a Redbird team had a double-figure margin in MVC play.
What's Next
Illinois State returns to Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena for the final game of a two-game homestand against the UNI Panthers in a 7 p.m. tip-off.
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