NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State used an 8-0 run in the middle of the second half to climb to within five, but the Redbirds were unable to overcome a 13-point halftime deficit, falling to the Valparaiso Crusaders by a 69-60 final score at Redbird Arena.
DJ Horne scored a team-high 19 points while adding an assist and two steals, while Dusan Mahorcic scored 15 points with five rebounds in the losing effort. Antonio Reeves also hit the double-figure scoring plateau with 10, while Josiah Strong was just off the pace with seven points. Howard Fleming Jr. pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds and led the team with four assists and tied for the team lead with two steals.
The Redbirds were unable to capture the momentum gained from the team's mid-week win over I-74 rival Bradley, as the visiting Crusaders scored the first eight points of the game, and never trailed in the contest. The Redbirds chipped away at the deficit, closing to within five; however, a late push in the half sent the Crusaders into the locker room with a 13-point, 36-23 lead.
Trailing by 13 with 11:48 to play in the game the Redbirds ran off eight straight points on a Reeves three-point play, a Mahorcic lay-up, and a DJ Horne three-pointer to close the gap to five at 51-46. The 'Birds were able to climb to as close as four with four minutes to play, but could not overcome the halftime deficit, and Valparaiso iced the game with four free throws in the final 38 seconds to hold on to the 69-60 victory.
Donovan Clay scored a game-high 20 points to go with a dozen rebounds for the double-double, while Eron Gordon scored 14 and Connor Barrett 12 in the Crusader win. Daniel Sackey dished out a game-high five assists, while Gordon had three steals to pace Valpo.
The Redbirds, after a cold first half in which the team hit just 10-of-30 shots from the field, warmed up in the second and ended the game making 23-of-59 shots (39.0 percent), and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from beyond the arc. Valparaiso was 25-of-60 from the field (41.7 percent) and 9-of-29 (31 percent) from long range. Valparaiso out-rebounded Illinois State 42-32, as each team had 10 turnovers in the game.
The teams return to action on Sunday at Redbird Arena with a 5 p.m. tip-off.
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