NORMAL, Ill. – Behind a season-high 20 points from Jaycee Hillsman and four other players in double-figure scoring, the Illinois State Redbirds snapped their seven-game losing skid with a 77-66 win over the Evansville Aces on Wednesday evening.
How it Happened
Evansville came out strong, scoring the first seven points of the game, before the Redbirds fought back using a 13-3 run to give the Redbirds their first lead of the game at 13-10. Evansville fought back to push ahead to an eight-point lead, as the visitors made 8-of-14 from long range through the first 17 minutes of the game. After the eight-point margin with 3:34 to play in the opening half, the Redbirds closed the first half on an 11-4 run to drop the margin to just one at the break at halftime.
A three-pointer by Zach Copeland and a jumper by DJ Horne put the Redbirds back on top quickly in the second half. A 7-0 Evansville run gave the visitors the lead again, and the Aces led by four points with just under 13 minutes left in the first half; however, Illinois State scored 10 consecutive points to take a lead it would not give up for the remainder of the game. Leading by five points, Illinois State ran off 13 consecutive points down the stretch of the game, pushing ahead to an 18-point lead with 2:23 to play in the game. Evansville added seven points after the game had been decided to close the final gap to 11 at the final horn.
Key Moment
Illinois State's 10-0 run, capped by back-to-back three-pointers from Hillsman and Antonio Reeves, turned a four-point Evansville lead into a six-point Redbird advantage that the hosts would not give up for the remainder of the game.
Inside the Box Score
- Hillsman scored a season-high 20 points, making 6-of-10 shots from the field and 4-of-5 from both the three-point arc and the free throw line.
- Hillsman is the fifth Redbird player this season to reach the 20-point plateau.
- The game is the third in Hillsman's career in which he reached the 20-point mark in a game.
- Keith Fisher III scored 16 points for the Redbirds, making 6-of-14 shots from the field and 4-of-5 of his free throws.
- He pulled down a game-high nine rebounds with an assist and a steal.
- Reeves scored a dozen points off the bench, hitting 4-of-8 shots from the field with four rebounds and two steals.
- Copeland had a great all-around game with 11 points, while tying his career-highs with seven rebounds and seven assists.
- Copeland made 3-of-8 shots from long range, as he also grabbed a game-high three steals.
- Horne scored 10 points, hitting 4-of-8 shots from the field and 2-of-5 from long range, while adding a trio of assists.
- Ricky Torres dished out five assists with no turnovers, adding four points to his assist total.
- For the fifth time this season the Redbirds had single-digit turnovers, as the team had an 18-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio in the game.
- The +12 assist/turnover ratio is tied for the best this season, as the team also had 18 assists with six turnovers against Drake on January 16.
Stat of the Game
With five players in double-figure points, the game was the third time this season that the Redbirds had five different players reach double-figure scoring in a game, along with the season opener against Belmont, and against Western Kentucky in the Virgin Islands.
What's Next
The Redbirds travel to Valparaiso, Indiana, to take on the Crusaders in a 7 p.m. tip-off.
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