CHICAGO, Ill. – Behind 28 points from Antonio Reeves and 25 from Josiah Strong, the Illinois State Redbirds used a second-half surge to pull away in an 80-71 win over the Chicago State Cougars.
It was Reeves' sixth 20+ point game of the season, and a new career-high for Strong. Reeves – playing in front of a large contingent of friends and family – also pulled down three rebounds, while Kendall Lewis led the team with seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Illinois State scored the first four points of the game, before the hosts ran off eight straight points to take a four-point advantage. The host lead grew to as many as seven points with 13:34 to play in the opening stanza, as ISU started chipping away at the deficit. Trailing by four with 6:36 to play in the half, Reeves took over and scored 15 consecutive Illinois State points, pushing ISU to a three-point, 31-2 advantage, as the Redbirds held a four-point, 36-32 lead going into the halftime break.
ISU never trailed in the second half; however, Chicago State did pull into a 42-42 tie with 14:40 to play in the game; however, ISU ran off a 10-2 run to lead by eight, as the margin reached as many as a dozen points. The Redbirds were able to ice the game by making all eight of their free throw tries in the final minute in the 80-71 win.
The Redbirds return to action on Tuesday, December 14 when the squad hosts the Quincy Hawks in a 7 p.m. tip-off at Redbird Arena.
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