EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Trailing by seven with 10:50 to play in the game, the Illinois State Redbirds pushed off a 24-7 run over the next 10:04 of gameplay time, turning the seven point deficit into a 10 point lead in a 73-68 road win, snapping Evansville's four-game MVC win streak on Sunday afternoon.
The Redbirds made 30-of-48 shots from the field, a percentage of 62.5, including making 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) in the second half. The team also made seven three-point shots on just 11 attempts, 63.6 percent. The field goal percentage is the 23rd-best single-game shooting performance in program history, while the three-point shooting percentage is the 14th best in team history with a minimum of 10 attempts. The Redbirds also held Evansville to just one free throw make, which is the first time in program history that the ISU defense has kept its opponent to fewer than two free throw tries.
Antonio Reeves scored a career-high 21 points, becoming the fifth player this season to reach the 20-point plateau, as he made 9-of-11 of his shots from the field, while pulling down six rebounds in the win. Dusan Mahorcic scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including his first three-point basket of the season, while DJ Horne and Josiah Strong each scored 10 points. Harouna Sissoko pulled down nine rebounds – one off his career-high – and scored five points.
Illinois State found itself trailing 6-3 early in the game before the 'Birds rolled off 12 consecutive points over a five-and-a-half-minute span to turn the three-point deficit into a nine-point lead. The lead stretched to as many as 11 points at 19-8 with 11:19 to play in the first half; however, the host Aces went seven minutes between baskets, with the hosts using an 11-1 run to take a two-point lead before a Dedric Boyd three-pointer snapped the streak, and an Abdou Ndiaye three-pointer sent ISU into the locker room at halftime with a 32-30 lead.
A Reeves three-point play started the scoring in the second half; however, over the next seven minutes Evansville rolled off a 20-9 lead to lead by seven with 11:17 to play, setting up ISU's 24-7 late game run to give the game its margin, as the Redbirds held on late for the five-point win.
Noah Frederking scored a team-high 15 points, with all of his points coming from beyond the three-point arc, while Evan Kuhlman scored 13 and Shamar Givance 12 in a losing effort. Givance gave out a game-high eight assists, while making 4-of-6 on three-point attempts.
Evansville made 13-of-31 three-point attempts in the game, 41.9 percent, while making 27-of-60 overall from the field.
Illinois State returns to action on Saturday, January 16 when the Redbirds host the Indiana State Sycamores in the first of five consecutive home games, with a 3 p.m. tip-off at Redbird Arena.
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