NORMAL, Ill. – A late 6-0 Redbird run got Illinois State back within three late in the game; however, the Redbirds were unable to cut the entire gap, falling 61-56 to the UIC Flames on Wednesday evening.
Illinois State was led by Myles Foster and Kendall Lewis, each who had double-doubles in the loss. Foster scored a game-high 18 points to go with his 10 rebounds, while Lewis scored 15 points in addition to his 10 rebounds. Dalton Banks scored 13 points while dishing out four assists.
Johnny Kinziger – in his first collegiate start – dished out a career-best five assists for the Redbirds with zero turnovers, with three Redbirds – Banks, Kinziger, and Malachi Poindexter each grabbing a pair of steals.
The Redbirds made just 18-of-52 shots from the field in the loss, a percentage of 34.6, while making 5-of-16 shots from long range (31.3%) and 15-of-19 (78.9%) from the charity stripe. ISU also had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for the 13th time this season.
Illinois State returns to action on Saturday, February 10 when the squad travels to Carbondale, Illinois, to face off against the Southern Illinois Salukis in a 6 p.m. tip-off at the Banterra Center.
The Redbirds started fast and jumped out to a five-point, 9-4 lead following a Poindexter three-pointer, and three additional times led by four points – the last following a Banks lay-in with 8:24 to play in the opening half. UIC immediately answered the last four-point deficit with a 9-0 run, taking a lead it would not give up for the remainder of the game, as the Flames pushed to a five-point, 33-28 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
Despite not taking back the lead, Illinois State fought and tied the score at 38 on a Lewis lay-in, the final points of a 10-5 start to the second half for the 'Birds; however, the Flames pushed and extended their lead to as many as nine with 4:27 to play in the game. ISU pushed back again, climbing within as few as three; however, a late fadeaway jump shot gave UIC a two-possession lead, and the team iced the game with a pair of free throws with two seconds left to secure the 61-56 UIC win.
UIC was by 13 points from CJ Jones, with Isaiah Rivera scoring 11. Toby Okani scored nine while pulling down a game-high 11 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 first time this season that this lineup has been used to open a game
- It is the 10th different starting lineup for the Redbirds this season, 13th-most starting lineup combinations across Division I basketball
- Illinois State won the opening tip
- The first Illinois State points of the game came from Dalton Banks with a three-pointer with 19:44 to play in the first half
- Banks has scored the first points of the game four times for the Redbirds this season, the third time with a three-point basket
- The first sub for Illinois State was Luke Kasubke with 14:29 to play in the first half
- UIC led 33-28 at halftime
- Illinois State had a 14-to-11 assist-to-turnover ratio, the 13th plus margin in the category this season
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Malachi Poindexter
- Made his 17th start of the season and 42nd start of his collegiate career
- Dalton Banks
- Has started all 24 games for the Redbirds this season, and 39 games during his career
- Scored in double-figures for the 13th time this season and 24th of his career
- Myles Foster
- Has started 23 of the team's 24 games this season, and has 57 career starts in 110 games played
- Reached double-figure scoring for the sixth consecutive game, and for the 15th time this season
- Pulled down double-digit rebounds for the sixth time this season
- Had his fifth double-double this season
- Johnny Kinziger
- Made his first collegiate start in the game
- Dished out a career-high five assists
- Played a career-best 36 minutes in the game
- Kendall Lewis
- Started his 18th game of the season, and 102nd of his collegiate career
- Reached double-figure scoring for the seventh time this season and 49th of his college career
- Pulled down double-digit rebounds for the third time this season
- Recorded his first double-double of the season, and 14th of his career
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