NORMAL, Ill. – Shooting 70.2 percent from the field in a win against the Evansville Aces, Illinois State never trailed before cruising to a 38-point, 94-56 MVC win on Friday night.
The field goal percentage – 40-of-57 shooting in the contest – is the highest in a game against a NCAA Division I opponent in school history and is the best percentage in a game against a Division I opponent in the country this season.
Four Redbirds scored in double figures, led by Antonio Reeves' 16 points, while Kendall Lewis scored 14, Sy Chatman 12, and Howard Fleming Jr. 10. Two others – Ryan Schmitt and Jayden Johnson – finished a single point away from the double-figure plateau.
Fleming pulled down a team-best five rebounds, as the Redbirds out-rebounded Evansville 28-to-19 in the game. Mark Freeman dished out a game-high six assists, while Fleming and Malcolm Miller each gave out four helpers. The Redbirds gave out a season-high 23 assists, while committing just five turnovers, the fewest in a game by the Redbirds since the team had four against Drake on January 3, 2016.
The Redbirds and Aces meet back up on Sunday afternoon in a 1 p.m. tip-off at the Ford Center.
ISU scored the first six points of the game, and never trailed in the contest. Evansville closed the gap to one at 10-9 with 16:48 to play, before ISU ran off a 16-2 run to push the margin to double-digits, and the Redbirds took a 10-point, 44-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Redbirds came out focused and firing on all cylinders out of the locker room at halftime, going on runs of 5-0, 7-0, 12-0, and 11-0 to push ahead to a 79-41 lead, as ISU out-scored Evansville 35-7 through the first 14 minutes of the second half and the 'Birds cruised to the 38-point win.
Evansville had two players – Jawaun Newton and Blake Sisley – each scored 10 points, while Newton pulled down six rebounds to pace the team.
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