CARBONDALE, Ill. – Trailing by 15 with 5:15 to play in the game, the Illinois State Redbirds held Southern Illinois without a field goal the rest of the game, and out-scored SIU 14-2 over the final stretch of the second half; however, could not overcome the full deficit in the 69-66 loss to the Salukis.
Myles Foster scored a team-high 17 points for the Redbirds, making 7-of-13 shots from the field, with Malachi Poindexter scoring 16 points, Kendall Lewis 13, and Johnny Kinziger 11. Dalton Banks – who played the first three years of his collegiate career at Southern Illinois – scored seven points with a team-high four assists.
Foster also led the team with seven rebounds and three blocked shots, while Lewis and Banks each pulled down six rebounds, helping the Redbirds out-rebound SIU 27-to-24 in the game. ISU also made 59.3 percent of its shots in the second half – the second-best shooting half of the season – and an overall field goal percentage of 55.6 – also the second-best of the season.
The Redbirds continue its road stand on Tuesday, February 13, when the team travels to Terre Haute, Indiana, to take on the MVC-leading Indiana State Sycamores in a 6 p.m. (CT) tip-off inside the Hulman Center.
Illinois State and Southern Illinois battled back and forth through the first four and a half minutes, as the Salukis led by just three points at 11-8; however, the Redbird offense went scoreless for nearly five minutes while SIU scored eight points during that stretch to push ahead to an 11-point lead. The first half margin reached its pinnacle with two seconds left in the half when Trent Brown drained a 30-foot three-point shot at the end of the shot clock, sending the Salukis into the locker room with a 17-point, 42-25 lead.
The hosts scored first to start the second half extending the margin to its high-water mark of 19 for the game, before the Redbirds started chipping away, using a 9-0 run to close to within eight with 14:44 remaining in the game. Southern Illinois fought back and pushed the lead to 15 with 5:15 to play in the game, setting the stage for ISU's 14-0 run, culminating with a Lewis lay-in with less than a second on the clock. A desperation foul saw SIU make to free throws to give the game its three-point final margin.
Xavier Johnson, the NCAA's second-leading scorer entering the game, scored 17 points, while Scottie Ebube scored 10 points off the bench for SIU while pulling down a team-best seven rebounds.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois State used a starting lineup of 1 Malachi Poindexter, 3 Dalton Banks, 4 Myles Foster, 11 Johnny Kinziger, and 22 Kendall Lewis
- This is the second time this season that this lineup has been used to open a game
- Illinois State won the opening tip
- The first Illinois State points of the game came from Myles Foster with a lay-up with 18:49 to play in the first half
- Banks has scored the first points of the game nine times for the Redbirds this season
- The first sub for Illinois State was Ty Pence with 16:10 to play in the first half
- Southern Illinois led 42-25 at halftime
- The Redbirds out-rebounded Southern Illinois 27-to-24 in the game, the 16th time this season in 25 games that ISU has out-rebounded its opponent
- Illinois State's field goal percentage of 55.6 (25-of-45) is the second-highest of the season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Malachi Poindexter
- Made his 18th start of the season and 43rd start of his collegiate career
- Scored in double-figures for the second time in his last three games, and for the ninth time this season
- Dalton Banks
- Has started all 25 games for the Redbirds this season, and 40 games during his career
- Dished out a team-high four assists, leading ISU for the 15th time this season
- Myles Foster
- Has started 24 of the team's 25 games this season, and has 58 career starts in 111 games played
- Scored in double-figures for the seventh consecutive game
- Has scored in double-figures 16 times this season and 53 times in his career
- Led ISU in rebounding for the 11th time this season
- Tied a season-high with 13 field goal attempts (happened two previous games, including on January 6 against Southern Illinois in CEFCU Arena)
- Blocked a season-high three shots
- Johnny Kinziger
- Made his second collegiate start
- Scored double-figure points for the seventh time in his collegiate career
- Kendall Lewis
- Started his 19th game of the season, and 103rd of his collegiate career
- Scored in double-figures for the third time in his last four games, and for the eighth time this season
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