NORMAL, Ill. – Led by a career-high 29 points from junior guard Antonio Reeves, the Illinois State Redbirds went from trailing by 15 points with five minutes to play in the first half to leading by as many as eight in the second half in a 68-63 season-opening win on Tuesday evening.
Reeves made 9-of-15 shots from the field and 5-of-8 from long range en route to his 29 points. He also pulled down six rebounds, dished out three assists and added three blocked shots in the winning effort. Mark Freeman reached double-figure scoring in his Redbird opener with 11 points, including a stellar 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, as Sy Chatman and Josiah Strong each added nine points.
Chatman pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for ISU, narrowly missing the double-double, as the Redbirds out-rebounded the Seahawks 45-to-44. Liam McChesney blocked a game-high four shots, as ISU had 10 blocked shots in the game.
The Redbirds led briefly in the first half, as the Seahawks used a strong defense to push ahead by as many as 15 points, the last time with at 27-12 with 5:06 to play in the opening period. The Redbirds answered back quickly, running off eight straight points, and 11 of the next 13 to climb within six before UNCW drained a three-pointer to send the Redbirds into the locker room with a nine-point, 32-23 deficit.
ISU came out firing on all cylinders to open the second half, scoring the first seven points of the period, and 13 of the first 15 points, to lead 36-34 four minutes into the second stanza, closing a 24-7 run for ISU that spanned nine minutes of game play time. The two teams battled back and forth for the next 10 minutes and the game was tied at 50-50 with 3:57 to play before ISU ran off eight straight points – starting with a pair of Abdou Ndiaye free throws and capped by a pair of Antonio Reeves free throws – and the Redbirds never trailed again in the five-point win.
The Redbird defense held UNCW's top two returning scorers – Jaylen Sims and Mike Okauru – to just seven total points after the pair averaged a combined 32 points a year earlier. Shykeim Phillips scored a team-best 14 points for UNCW, leading four players in double-figure scoring, while Sims pulled down a team-leading 10 rebounds.
The Redbirds return to action on Friday, November 12, when the team travels to Ypsilanti, Michigan, to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles in a 5 p.m. tip-off at the EMU Convocation Center.
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