NORMAL, Ill. – All five Illinois State starters reached double-figure scoring on Wednesday night against Northern Iowa, as the Redbirds led for nearly 30 minutes of game time in an 81-73 win over the Panthers inside CEFCU Arena.
Five players – each of the starters – scored in double-figures, led by Johnny Kinziger's game-high 21 points. The Redbirds also had two players – Myles Foster and Kendall Lewis – record double-doubles in the game, the second time in the last five games that the pair had double-doubles in the same contest.
Foster scored 18 points for the Redbirds, while pulling down 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. While Lewis added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Malachi Poindexter and Dalton Banks each added 11 points, while Banks and Kinziger each dished out four assists to tie for the team-high.
The win for the Redbirds improves the hosts to 14-14 on the year and 8-9 in MVC play, while Northern Iowa falls to 15-13, 9-8 in conference. The ISU win also snapped a 10-game Panther win streak in the all-time series, a series that the Redbirds now lead 46-45.
The Redbirds turn around next on Saturday evening, when the 'Birds travel to Peoria to take on their I-74 rival Bradley in a 7 p.m. tip-off inside Carver Arena.
The first half was hotly contested with five ties and a dozen lead changes, as the largest lead by either team would be four points, with the Redbirds scoring seven of the last 12 points of the first half to take a 37-34 into the locker room at halftime.
After UNI scored the first basket of the second half, the Redbirds answered back with five in a row, and gradually extended the lead to nine, four minutes into the period. UNI would fight back, closing the gap to as few as four, but were never able to get the margin to a single possession the rest of the way in the eight-point Redbird win.
UNI was led by Nate Heise who scored 20 points with a team-high five rebounds. Bowen Born scored 14 while dishing out four assists while Tytan Anderson scored 13 points with two blocks and two steals.
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 fifth consecutive game 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 jumper with 19:37 to play in the first half
- Foster has scored the first points of the game 11 times for the Redbirds this season
- The first sub for Illinois State was Luke Kasubke with 16:01 to play in the first half
- Illinois State led 37-34 at halftime
- The Redbirds out-rebounded Northern Iowa 38-to-29
- ISU has out-rebounded its last four opponents, and 19 total games this season
- Illinois State is back to .500 at 14-14 on the year
- The win snapped a 10-game Northern Iowa win streak in the all-time series
- Illinois State leads the all-time series between the two teams by a 46-45 margin
- Five Redbirds scored in double-figures for the second time this season
- The last time was on January 23 against Belmont
- ISU had two players with double-doubles for the second time this season
- The last time was on February 7 at home against UIC
- Illinois had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for the 15th time this season and the third consecutive game
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Malachi Poindexter
- Made his 21st start of the season and 46th start of his collegiate career
- Reached double-figure scoring for the third time in the last four games and the 11th time this season
- Dalton Banks
- Has started all 28 games for the Redbirds this season, and 43 games during his career
- Scored in double-figures with 11 points, the 14th time he has reached double-figure scoring this season and the 25th time of his career
- Tied for the team lead with four assists
- Myles Foster
- Has started 27 of the team's 28 games this season, and has 61 career starts in 114 games played
- Recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds
- His double-figure scoring game was his 10th straight and 19th this season
- He pulled down double-digit rebounds for the eighth time this season
- His 14 rebounds missed a career-high by one
- Johnny Kinziger
- Made his fifth collegiate start
- Scored 20 points for the second time this season, and reached double-figures for the 10th time
- Has scored in double-figures in four consecutive games
- Kendall Lewis
- Started his 22nd game of the season, and 106th of his collegiate career
- Scored 17 points, one away from his season-high, reaching double-figures in the points column for the ninth time this season and 51st time in his career
- Pulled down double-digit rebounds for the fifth time this season
- The double-double was his second of the season, and both have come in his last five games
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