FLORENCE, Italy – Behind the strength of 19 points from senior Zach Copeland, Illinois State led wire-to-wire against Lithuanian squad BC Silute on Tuesday evening by a 73-64 final score.
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The day started with a sightseeing tour at Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo's Plaza), a spot that overlooks the entire city of Florence.
Later in the evening the team traveled to the arena where it faced off against the Lithuanian squad BC Silute.
Using a starting five of DJ Horne, Dedric Boyd, Abdou Ndiaye, Keith Fisher III, and Jaycee Hillsman, the Redbirds jumped out quickly, and never trailed in the contest.
The Redbirds got a three-point basket from DJ Horne to push the Redbirds out to a lead, as ISU took a 27-13 lead into the break after the first quarter. BC Silute cut into the deficit in the second quarter, out-scoring Illinois State 18-15 in the period; however, the Redbirds' lead stood at 11 at the halftime break.
ISU out-scored BC Silute 16-15 in the third quarter to increase its lead to a dozen; and held on for the 73-64 win.
Copeland scored a team-high 19 points for Illinois State, while Keith Fisher III scored 16, Dedric Boyd a dozen, and six points each from Ricky Torres and Jaycee Hillsman. Also scoring for the Redbirds was Antonio Reeves (5 points), Rey Idowu (4 points), DJ Horne (3 points), and Abdou Ndiaye (2 points).
Tomorrow morning the Redbirds will go on a bike tour through the city of Florence, and later visit the Statue of David in the early afternoon.
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