NORMAL, Ill. – Behind a season-high 21 points – including 18 in the second half – from Illinois State junior Keith Fisher III, the Redbirds overcame a three-point halftime deficit to top the Drake Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon by a 57-53 final score on Senior Day.
How it Happened
Drake jumped out quickly, scoring the game's first seven points and the Redbirds played catch-up for nearly the entire opening half. Drake's lead grew to as many as nine at 18-9 before ISU responded with a 6-0 run to close the gap to three. A 9-0 run later in the half by ISU, including two three-pointers from DJ Horne and another from Fisher gave the Redbirds their first lead of the game at 24-23. The Bulldogs answered with a 9-0 run of their own push to an eight-point lead with 3:14 to play in the half but would not score again as Antonio Reeves scored five straight to close the gap to three at 32-29 heading into the locker room at halftime.
A Fisher three-pointer on ISU's first possession of the second half to tie the score, and another 5-0 run put the hosts ahead by five with 14:46 to play in the game, and Drake never took the lead again in the game. ISU stretched its lead to as many as 11 at 52-41 after a Reeves three-pointer with 7:51 left in the game. The Drake defense tightened over the next five minutes, holding the Redbirds to just a free throw during that stretch and tied the score at 53 with 3:14 to play. The three-pointer that the Bulldogs used to tie the score was the final points for the visitors as Fisher made a lay-in with a minute on the clock, before Ricky Torres converted on both free throws of a one-and-one situation to give ISU the four-point win.
Key Moment
With 57.5 seconds left Torres found Fisher for a lay-in, allowing the Redbirds to re-capture the lead with the eventual game-winning point.
Inside the Box Score
- Fisher scored a season-high 21 points – 18 coming in the second half – making 8-of-12 from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe.
- Fisher tied for the team lead with seven rebounds, the 14th time this season he has led or shared the team lead in rebounding.
- Fisher's eight made field goals are a new season-high, while his three made three-pointers is a career-high.
- For Fisher, it was his 12th double-figure scoring game of the season, and second game of scoring at least 20 points (at UTSA was the other).
- Reeves was one point away from his career-high, scoring 16 points against the Bulldogs.
- His four three-point field goal makes are a new career-high, as are his 36 minutes played in the game.
- Reeves has now scored in double-figures nine times this season and has two consecutive double-figure scoring games.
- Reeves pulled down a career-high seven rebounds on the day, topping his previous career-high of four boards.
- Horne scored all of his six points on back-to-back possessions in the first half, hitting 2-of-7 long-range shots in the game.
- His season total of 44 made three-pointers are seventh-most by a freshman in program history, while his percentage of .427 is the most in a freshman season in program history.
- He pulled down a career-high seven rebounds, topping his previous career-high of six set on Feb. 12 at UNI.
- Torres scored just two points in the game, but it was an important two points coming at the free throw line to ice the game.
- He also dished out five assists against just one turnover, his seventh game this season with five or more assists and fourth to come with a turnover or less.
- Illinois State had nine steals in the game, the second-most in a game by the Redbirds this season, and tied for the most against a Division I opponent.
Stat of the Game
After committing just six turnovers against Drake in the opening game of the two-game season series – and having 11 combined turnovers between the two teams – Illinois State had 18 turnovers on the Saturday game, while Drake had 17.
What's Next
Illinois State returns to Redbird Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 26 when the team hosts its final home game of the 2019-20 season with I-74 rival Bradley coming to town in a 6 p.m. tip-off on the game that will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
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