NORMAL, Ill. – With four players reaching double-figure scoring, and another a point off the 10-point plateau, the Illinois State Redbirds topped in-state foe Northern Illinois on Wednesday evening by an 81-60 final score.
Dalton Banks scored a team-high 17 points for the Redbirds, making 8-of-10 shots from the field, while tying his career-high with eight rebounds. Chase Walker scored 15 points with six rebounds and an assist, while Johnny Kinziger and Jack Daugherty each scored a dozen points.
Kinziger dished out a game-high six assists, while also grabbing seven rebounds, as he made 4-of-8 from long range while Daugherty was 4-of-7 from distance with four rebounds. ISU out-rebounded Northern Illinois 46-to-26, the Redbirds' largest rebounding margin against a NCAA Division I opponent since November 29, 2014 when the Birds out-rebounded Youngstown State 50-to-29.
ISU (7-4) will end its non-conference portion of the schedule on Sunday, December 22, when the squad will travel to Ithaca, New York, to face off against the Big Red of Cornell University in an 11 a.m. (CT) start.
The lead changed hands just once in the game, as NIU scored first before the Redbirds tallied the next six points and did not trail again in the contest. ISU's first-half lead grew to as large as a dozen before the feisty Huskie squad closed the gap to six; however, the Redbirds took an eight-point, 36-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Redbirds came out firing to start the second half, and through the first 13 minutes of the second stanza ISU out-scored NIU 31-11, extending the lead to 28. The margin reached as high as 30 with 4:18 to play in the game, and the Redbirds put the game on cruise control over the final four minutes of the contest in the 21-point victory.
For the fifth time this season the Redbirds had shooting splits of .500 / .400 / .750, which is the second-most by a single-team in the country this season. The Birds were 30-of-60 from the field, 10-of-24 (41.7%) from long range, and 11-of-14 (78.6%) from the charity stripe. Northern Illinois converted on 22 of 60 shots from the field (36.7 percent), 6-of-29 (20.7%) from beyond the arc, and 10-of-12 (83.3%) from the free throw line.
The Huskies got a game-high 27 points from Quentin Jones, while Kailon Nicholls scored a dozen.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois State used a starting lineup of 3 Dalton Banks, 4 Landon Wolf, 11 Johnny Kinziger, 22 Ty Pence, and 35 Chase Walker
- It was the 10th consecutive game the Redbirds have used this lineup
- ISU is 7-3 when using this starting lineup
- The Huskies won the opening tip
- The first points of the game came from Chase Walker on a driving lay-up with 18:55 to play in the first half
- It was the fourth time he scored ISU's first points of the game this season, tied for the team lead
- The first sub for Illinois State were Caden Boser with 18:31 to play in the first half
- Illinois State led 36-28 at halftime
- The game is the first meeting between the two schools since the 2003-04 season
- ISU holds a 67-39 lead in the all-time series
- Illinois State's +20 rebounding margin is the largest by a Redbird squad against another NCAA Division I opponent since November 29, 2014 when ISU out-rebounded Youngstown State 50-to-29 in a 12-point win
- The total is the third-highest this season by a MVC school against a Division I opponent, as Northern Iowa out-rebounded Northern Illinois by 22 on December 7 and Evansville out-rebounded Green Bay by 22 on November 22
- The game was Illinois State's fifth game this season with shooting splits of .500/.400/.750, the second-most types of games in the country.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Jack Daugherty
- Reached the double-figure mark for the fourth time this season
- Has made 4+ three-point field goals four times during his freshman season
- Malachi Poindexter
- Scored nine points on his 24th birthday
- Dalton Banks
- Scored in double-figures for the seventh time this season and 32nd time over his career
- Led the Redbirds in scoring for the second time this season and fourth time in his career
- Tied a career-high with eight rebounds
- Led ISU in rebounds for the third time this season, and fourth time since joining the program last season
- Johnny Kinziger
- Reached the double-figure scoring plateau for the 10th time this season and 23rd time in his career
- Ty Blake
- Scored his first career points with a free throw with 2:29 to play in the game
- Cameron Barnes
- Set a career-high with four rebounds (including three offensive)
- Caden Boser
- Tied a season-high with two assists
- Chase Walker
- Reached double-figure scoring for the 10th time this season and 11th time in his career
- Has had at least 15 points and six rebounds in five of his last six games
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
