NORMAL, Ill. – A late 10-0 Illinois State run cut the Redbird deficit to just five over a three-minute span late in the game, but Illinois State could not overcome the full margin in a 74-68 Indiana State win on Sunday afternoon.
Dedric Boyd scored a game-high 19 points off the bench, making 6-of-10 shots from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc in the loss. Dusan Mahorcic picked up his second double-double in a Redbird uniform with 12 points and 11 rebounds, as Antonio Reeves made 2-of-3 shots from beyond the arc, scoring 14 points.
Howard Fleming Jr. scored a career-high 10 points, becoming the 12th player on the team to reach the double-figure plateau this season, which is tied for the most in the country, and is a new Illinois State record.
Indiana State came out firing out of the gate, scoring the first seven points of the contest, and led by as many as 11 in the opening half – the last time at 26-15 with 8:54 to play in the opening stanza. Trailing by double-digits, the Redbirds ran off a 16-4 run to push ahead by one at 31-30 five and a half minutes later. The Sycamores fought back and took a four-point, 38-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.
A 13-4 Sycamore run to start the second half pushed the visitors' lead to 13 six minutes into the final half, and Indiana State's lead reached its high point at 15 with 4:28 to play in the contest. The Redbird defense tightened and kept the Sycamores scoreless for just over three minutes, while climbing to within five with 1:46 to play in the contest. The five-point margin would be as close as the team could come as the game margin ended at six at 74-68.
Illinois State went 25-of-56 (44.8 percent) from the field, and 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from beyond the arc. The Redbirds out-rebounded the Sycamores 36-to-32 and forced nine second half Indiana State turnovers. The Sycamores were 28-of-58 (49.1 percent) overall from the field, while making 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
Tyreke Key scored a team-best 18 points for the Sycamores, as Randy Miller Jr. scored 13, with Tre Williams and Tobias Howard each scored 11.
The Redbirds return to action on Wednesday, January 20, when the team hosts in-state rival Bradley with an 8 p.m. tip-off at Redbird Arena.
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