NORMAL, Ill.  – Illinois State got 23 points and eight rebounds from Milik Yarbrough and 19 points and seven rebounds from Phil Fayne, as the Redbirds held on late in a 70-69 win over the UNI Panthers on Tuesday evening.
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How It Happened
The first half had 11 total lead changes, as neither team could push out to a lead larger than six over the opening 20 minutes. With 1:30 to play the Panthers pushed ahead to a six-point, 33-27 lead; however, a three-pointer by Keyshawn Evans and a lay-in by Rey Idowu propelled ISU to a half-ending 5-0 run and cutting the gap to one at 33-32 heading into the locker room at halftime.
The Redbirds started the second half strong, scoring the first four points on a pair of Fayne lay-ins to close out the 9-0 run between the two periods. Illinois State continued to put the foot on the gas pedal, pushing ahead to a 10-point lead with 13:56 to play in the game on a Yarbrough lay-in. The Panthers continued to chip away at the deficit, closing to within the one-point final margin with just under two seconds to play in the Redbird win.
Key Moment
ISU's 9-0 run between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half turned a six-point UNI lead into a three-point ISU lead that it would not give up for the remainder of the game.
Inside the Box Score
- A game after scoring his 1,000th career point on Saturday, Fayne scored 19 points, making 8-of-10 shots from the field. His career total of 1,024 moves him into 41st place on the career scoring list, passing Deontae Hawkins, Joe Galvin, and Gregg Alexander.
- Yarbrough scored a game-high 23 points, pulling down eight rebounds, while giving out three assists.
- Matt Chastain scored a career-high 12 points, making 5-of-8 of his shots from the field and two of his three three-point attempts. He also pulled down five rebounds and gave out three assists.
- Zach Copeland scored eight points, while dishing out a game-high-tying four assists.
Stat of the Game
17-of-22: The combined shooting of Fayne and Yarbrough in ISU's win over UNI.
What's Next
Illinois State travels north to Chicago to take on the Loyola Ramblers in a rematch of the 2018 MVC Tournament championship game, in a 1 p.m. tip-off at Gentile Arena.
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