NORMAL, Ill. – Trailing by five with 33 seconds to play, Illinois State out-scored Bucknell 9-3 over the final half minute to send the game to overtime, where ISU out-scored Bucknell 17-12, as the Redbirds were able to take advantage of Mark Freeman's career-high scoring output in a 105-100 win on Saturday evening.
Freeman made 12-of-20 shots from the field, 3-of-4 from long range and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line en route to his 34 points, the most by a Redbird player this season. Sy Chatman scored 23 points – his second 20+ point scoring game of the season – while pulling down 11 rebounds for his second double-double in four games this year. Josiah Strong and Antonio Reeves each scored a dozen points before fouling out during the overtime period.
The Redbirds take to the skies on Sunday, flying to Cancun, Mexico, to compete in the 2021 Cancun Challenge, where ISU will take on the Saint Louis Billikens on Tuesday, November 23 at 7:30 p.m., and then either Stephen F. Austin or Buffalo a day later.
The game had 22 lead changes and a dozen tie scores, with neither team able to lead by more than seven points in the game. Trailing by five points eight minutes into the game the Redbirds ran off eight straight points to turn the five-point deficit into a three-point lead. Holding on to the three-point lead late in the half, Bucknell closed the half with six made free throws, and led 42-39 after the first 20 minutes.
The visiting Bison kept their lead through the first four minutes, until Freeman closed out a 6-0 run with a lay-in. ISU got the lead and pushed it to as many as seven with 5:21 to play in the game; however, Bucknell guard Andrew Funk got hot and made three pointers on three of the next four possessions. Leading by five after a basket with 46 seconds to play, the Redbirds got a point back on a Howard Fleming Jr. free throw, and then two more after a Strong steal where he was fouled, butting the gap to two.
After a pair of free throws by the Bison, put the lead back to four. Strong followed back with a three-pointer with 22 seconds to play to close the gap to one. On the inbounds throw-in, Kendall Lewis tipped the second pass away, directly to Reeves, who tossed the ball back to Lewis for the dunk to put the hosts ahead by one. A Bucknell driving lay-in was missed and rebounded by Lewis, who made one of two free throws after being fouled, setting the stage for Elvin Edmunds to pick up a missed last-second shot and make the lay-in at the buzzer, sending the game to an overtime period.
Bucknell scored first to start the overtime period; however, five straight Freeman points put the 'Birds ahead and the hosts would not trail again. After seeing the game tied at 94, Reeves made a free throw and then a jumper in the lane, which was followed by a Lewis lay-in and ISU never lost the advantage for the remainder of the game.
The Bison narrowly out-rebounded ISU 42-to-41, while Illinois State had 14 assists against 11 turnovers.
Funk tied a Redbird Arena scoring record with his 38 points, making 12 of his 25 shots from the field, 7-of-16 from long range, and all seven of his free throw tries. Elvin Edmonds added 18 points, while Andre Screen scored 11 and Jake van der Heijden and Alex Timmerman each scored 10.
