NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State put four players into double-figure scoring, led by 17 from Myles Foster; however, it was not enough to overcome a hot-shooting night for the Southern Illinois Salukis, with the Redbirds falling 71-64 inside CEFCU Arena.
The Redbirds (8-7, 2-2 MVC) got the 17 points from Foster, as he made 8-of-13 shots from the field, with a game-high nine rebounds and a team-high four assists. Kendall Lewis scored 16 points with eight rebounds, a block, and a steal. Playing against his former school, Dalton Banks scored 11 points with three assists and a steal, while Malachi Poindexter scored 10 points with three rebounds and three assists.
Illinois State out-rebounded Southern Illinois 31-to-28 in the game, while the 'Birds had a +7 assist-to-turnover ratio margin in the game with 14 assists and seven turnovers.
ISU returns to action on Wednesday, January 10, when the squad travels to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on the Belmont Bruins in a 6:30 p.m. tip-off inside the Curb Event Center.
The Salukis were led by the shooting of Xavier Johnson and Trent Brown, as the pair combined to score 46 of the team's 71 points in the contest. Johnson scored 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field, while making 4-of-7 shots from long range, while Brown scored 20 points, making 6-of-7 shots from long distance. As a team the Salukis converted on 11-of-21 three-point shots (52.4), and 53.2 percent (25-of-47) of their shots from the field.
Johnson scored six of the first eight points of the game, as the Salukis jumped out to a four-point lead. ISU ran off six straight points to push ahead to a two-point lead. ISU's first-half lead grew to as many as five following a Darius Burford driving lay-in to put the Redbirds ahead 23-18; however, the visitors ran off 13 of the final 19 points of the half – nine of which came on three-pointers by Brown – to take a 31-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.
After a Banks lay-in to start the second half, knotting the teams at 31, Johnson – the nation's second-leading scorer – scored the next eight Southern Illinois points, giving the visitors a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. ISU climbed to within as few as two points; however, could not get any closer in the seven-point loss.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois State used a starting lineup of 1 Malachi Poindexter, 3 Dalton Banks, 4 Myles Foster, 10 Darius Burford, 22 Kendall Lewis
- This is the ninth consecutive game that this lineup has been used this season
- Today's game is the 167th all-time meeting between the two schools, the most against any one opponent in Redbird school history.
- Illinois State won the opening tip
- The first Illinois State points of the game came from Dalton Banks with a backdoor lay-up with 18:22 to play in the first half
- The first subs for Illinois State were Johnny Kinziger and Luke Kasubke with 15:07 to play in the first half
- Southern Illinois led 31-29 at halftime
- Illinois State out-rebounded its opponent for the 11th time this season
- The Redbirds had a +7 assist-to-turnover ratio in the game (14 assists, seven turnovers), the second-highest margin this season, and seventh time ISU has had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio this season in 15 games
- Illinois State falls to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in MVC play while Southern Illinois improves to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in conference
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Luke Kasubke
- His three assists are a new season-high
- Malachi Poindexter
- Scored in double-figures for the third straight game, and the seventh time this season
- Now has six games in which he has made at least two three-point baskets this season
- His three assists tied a season-high
- Dalton Banks
- Scored 11 points against his former school, his 10th game with double-figure points this season, and 21st of his career
- Myles Foster
- Scored in double-figures for the eighth time this season and 35th time in his career
- His 4 assists are a new season-high
- Kendall Lewis
- Reached double-figure scoring for the fourth time this season and 46th time in his career
- His 16 points were his second-highest total this season
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