NORMAL, Ill. – Despite three Redbirds scoring at least 16 points – including a career-high-tying 27 points from Chase Walker – Illinois State dropped a heartbreaker on a last-second basket by the Northern Iowa Panthers, falling 85-84 on Saturday evening inside CEFCU Arena.
Walker's 27 points tied his career-high set earlier this season against Saint Louis, as he also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds – six on the offensive end. Johnny Kinziger scored 19 points for ISU while leading the team with four assists, while Jordan Davis scored a season-high 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Redbirds out-rebounded UNI 30-to-26, while grabbing a season-high-tying 11 offensive rebounds and had a 13-to-9 assist-to-turnover ratio over the 40 minutes. Led by Dalton Banks' four steals, the Redbirds had nine steals in the game, second-most in a game this season.
ISU takes to the road on Wednesday, January 15, when the team travels to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on the Drake Bulldogs in an 8 p.m. tip-off inside the Knapp Center.
Northern Iowa started the game strong with three-pointers on each of their first two possessions, and with ISU trailing by five (8-3) with 17:12 to play, the Redbirds scored eight consecutive points on a three-pointer from Davis, and a pair of jumpers – one from three-point range – from Kinziger. ISU's first-half lead grew to as many as 12 in the first half, before the visitors trimmed the margin to seven heading into the break at halftime.
The Redbirds extended the lead to 10 with six minutes to play in the game; before the Panthers caught fire, making eight consecutive shots including five three-pointers to take a one-point lead. The Redbirds answered back, the game was a back-and-forth effort the rest of the way.
Trailing by four with 1:40 to play, Davis drained his fourth and final three-pointer of the game to close the gap to one. After a pair of free throws from Northern Iowa's Trey Campbell, ISU got a lay-up from Walker to close the gap to one. The Panthers' Max Weisbrod followed by missing the front end of a one-and-one free throw set, before Kinziger was fouled with 4.4 seconds to play. The sophomore calmly stepped the line and drained both to push ISU back ahead by one at 84-83 before UNI's Tytan Anderson converted a lay-in as time expired to secure the one-point Panther win.
The Panthers were led by a career-high 30 points from Trey Campbell, while Ben Schwieger and Anderson each scored 14. Anderson led UNI with seven rebounds and seven assists.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois State used a starting lineup of 4 Landon Wolf, 5 Jordan Davis11 Johnny Kinziger, 22 Ty Pence, and 35 Chase Walker
- It was the first time this season ISU has used this starting lineup, and the fifth different starting lineup used this season by ISU
- The Panthers won the opening tip
- The first points of the game came from Chase Walker on a three-pointer with 18:05 to play in the first half
- It was the seventh time he scored ISU's first points of the game this season, the most on the team
- The first sub for Illinois State was Dalton Banks with 16:29 to play in the first half
- Illinois State led 43-36 at the half
- The game was the fifth this season for ISU when making at least half of its three-point tries (12-of-24)
- The team's 22 made free throws are a season-high, and the team's percentage (81.5) is the seventh time this season that the Birds have made 80 percent or better from the charity stripe (with a minimum of 10 attempts)
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Jack Daugherty
- With his 37 made three-pointers this season, he has moved into a tie for the ninth-most made three-pointers by a freshman in school history, alongside Paris Lee
- Dalton Banks
- Tied a season-high with four steals in the game
- Jordan Davis
- Reached double figures for the second time this season (both within the last three games)
- His 16 points is a season-high, and two off his career-high that he set last season at Belmont
- Pulled down 6+ rebounds for the third consecutive game
- Is averaging 11.6 points and 7.7 rebounds over his last three games
- His two steals tied a season-high
- Tied a career-high with two assists
- His four made three-pointers tied his career-high, and is the most in a game this season
- Played 37 minutes in the game, a season-high, and one off his career-high
- Johnny Kinziger
- Reached double-figures in the scoring column for the 13th time this season and 26th time over his career
- Chase Walker
- Scored in double-figures for the 12th time this season and 13th time in his career
- Scored 20+ points for the third time in his career (all this season)
- Tied a career-high with 27 points
- Dished out a career-high-tying three assists
- Set career-highs in free throws made (14) and attempted (16)
- The 14 free throw makes are tied for the 10th-most in a single game in program history, and are the fourth-most in a game by a sophomore
- The 14 made free throws ties a CEFCU/Redbird Arena record, held by Jackie Carmichael
- Has 46 offensive rebounds this season, already the 13th-most in a season by a sophomore in school history
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