NORMAL, Ill. – Darius Burford scored a season-high 23 points, but it was not enough to overcome a strong shooting night from the Valparaiso Beacons on Saturday evening, as the Redbirds fell 71-51.
Burford made 9-of-14 shots from the field and all three of his free throw tries, while Malachi Poindexter added 10 points. Kendall Lewis pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds, with Poindexter leading the team with three assists, two steals, and a career-high two blocked shots.
ISU started strong, using a 6-0 run to take an 8-2 lead through the first four minutes of the game, and the lead remained at six with 7:47 after a Burford three-pointer put the Redbirds ahead 18-12. Valparaiso rallied, closing strong and used an 18-2 run to turn the six-point deficit into a 10-point Beacon advantage, as the visitors took a nine-point, 33-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Redbirds got back-to-back baskets from Burford early in the second half to close within five; however, a 7-0 Valparaiso run pushed the visitors back ahead by double digits, and the Beacons cruised to the 20-point win.
Valparaiso made 27-of-47 shots from the field, and 9-of-16 (56.3%) from long range – the first time this season that the Beacons made over half of their three-point attempts in a game. The Redbirds were 19-of-56 from the field (33.9%) and made 5-of-21 shots from beyond the arc.
Quinton Green scored a game-high 26 points for Valpo, while Kobe King added 15 and Ben Krikke and Nick Edwards each scored 10.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois State is now 8-13 (3-7 MVC) on the season while Valparaiso is 9-12 (3-7 MVC).
- Illinois State used a starting lineup of 0 Luke Kasubke, 1 Malachi Poindexter, 10 Darius Burford, 13 Liam McChesney, and 22 Kendall Lewis
- This is the third game that this lineup has been used this season.
- Tonight's game is the 22nd time these two teams have met on the basketball court
- Valparaiso leads the all-time series 13-9
- Illinois State won the opening tip.
- The first Illinois State points of the game came with 19:38 to play in the first half on a Darius Burford pull-up jumper
- Illinois State's first sub was Harouna Sissoko with 16:14 to play in the first half.
- Valparaiso led 33-24 at halftime
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Malachi Poindexter
- Scored in double-figures for the second straight game and for the eighth time this season
- He made both of his free throw tries in the game, pushing him to 32-of-32 for the season, and is now tied for the 17th-longest consecutive free throws made streak in Missouri Valley Conference history.
- Darius Burford
- Scored a season-high 23 points
- For the sixth consecutive game he reached double-figure scoring
- It is his 14th time this season and 41st time in his career scoring in double-digits
- Reached the 20-point plateau for the fourth time this season and 13th time in his career
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