NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State out-scored Valparaiso by eight in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a 12-point halftime deficit, as the Redbirds closed out a five-game, nine-day homestand on Sunday afternoon with a 70-66 loss to the Valparaiso Crusaders.
For the third consecutive game, DJ Horne scored at least 19 points, as the sophomore went 8-of-14 from the field and 2-of-3 from long range en route to scoring a team-high 20 points. Antonio Reeves went for 18 points in the loss, hitting six of his 14 attempts on the day, including 1-of-3 from long range and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. Horne and Reeves also each dished out three assists, which tied for the top mark on the team.
Horne tied a career-high with five steals and blocked a shot. For the second consecutive game freshman Howard Fleming Jr. was the teams co-leader in rebounding, pulling down six while nearly equaling his career-high by scoring nine points, as Emon Washington also grabbed six rebounds while scoring seven points off of the bench.
Horne opened the scoring in the game with a three-pointer 18 seconds into the contest and put the Redbirds ahead 5-3 before the visitors scored 10 of the next 12 points to lead by six at 13-7. The first half Redbird deficit reached as large as 16 points at the tail-end of a Valparaiso 9-0 run, before the Redbirds closed the gap to a dozen heading into the locker room at halftime.
After the Crusaders pushed the margin back to 13, ISU ran off a series of small runs to climb within three just over halfway through the second half. A pair of Reeves free throws with 2:27 to play in the game put the Redbirds back ahead at 64-63, capping a 5-0 ISU run. Valpo got back-to-back baskets to lead by three, before Horne scored Illinois State's final points on a lay-in with 1:05 to play. The Redbirds were unable to capitalize on their momentum in the second half, as the Crusaders picked up back-to-back offensive rebounds, forcing ISU to foul and made 3-of-4 charity stripe attempts down the stretch in the four-point win.
Ben Krikke scored a game-high 25 points with 15 rebounds, as Daniel Sackey scored 16 points while dishing out eight assists.
Illinois State returns to action next weekend when the team travels to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on the Drake Bulldogs in a two-game series on Sunday, January 31 and Monday, February 1.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
