NORMAL, Ill. – Four Redbirds scored in double figures, including a game-high 19 from Antonio Reeves, as the host Illinois State squad rolled out to a 35-point second half lead before cruising to the 81-63 non-conference win.
Reeves' 19 points came on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from long range, while Sy Chatman scored 16 with a team-high seven rebounds. Kendall Lewis scored a dozen points, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, as Mark Freeman scored 10 points with four assists and zero turnovers from his point guard role. In all, 14 players saw time in the game, with no player playing more than 21 minutes in the contest.
The Redbirds remain in Normal for their next two games, including hosting Ball State on Saturday, December 18 with a 3 p.m. tip-off.
Chatman scored the first four points of the game – including a lay-in 17 seconds into the game – and the Redbirds never trailed in the game, leading for 39:43 of the game. After Quincy closed the gap to 4-3, ISU ran off 12 consecutive points to push ahead by 13 6:44 into the game, and the margin was never in single digits again. The first-half lead grew to as many as 25 at 40-15, as the 'Birds went into the locker room with a 24-point, 46-22 advantage.
Quincy struck first in the second half; however, ISU answered with 11 consecutive points to extend the margin to 33. The Redbird advantage reached as many as 35 points and was at 34 with 11:45 to play in the game (69-35) before ISU took its foot off the gas pedal and cruised to the 18-point win.
Illinois State made 48.3 percent of its shots from the field, including shooting 61 percent (25-of-41) through the first 28 minutes of the game. ISU also made 17-of-23 free throws (73.9%) and 6-of-17 (35.3%) from long range. The Redbirds added eight blocked shots and a season-high-tying 11 steals.
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