PEORIA, Ill. – The Illinois State Redbirds got a game-high 16 points from Johnny Kinziger and 12 from Ty Pence, but the efforts were not enough in a defensive battle between the Redbirds and Bradley Braves, with the host Braves picking up a 61-57 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Kinziger's 16 points came on 4-of-11 shooting from the field, while going 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. Pence was perfect from the field, making all four of his tries, including both of his long-range attempts. Malachi Poindexter scored eight points, while Landon Wolf scored six points, and Chase Walker and Caden Boser each had five.
Walker pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, while Dalton Banks grabbed five, with Kinziger and Banks dishing out five and four assists, respectively. Banks' four steals were a game-high, as Wolf added two steals for the Birds.
ISU hosts Belmont and Valparaiso in its next two games – both at CEFCU Arena – opening with the home game against the Bruins on Wednesday, January 29 with an 8 p.m. tip-off.
The teams played through a battle during the opening 20 minutes, as the teams played through six ties and seven lead changes, with ISU leading by as many as seven points after a Caden Boser three-pointer with 13:06 to play in the opening period, before the host Braves fought back and took their first lead of the game with 8:03 to play. The lead changed hands four more times in the opening half with Bradley taking a narrow 28-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
ISU scored the first four points of the second half in a defensive battle, and after Bradley knotted the score, neither team could find the bottom of the net, with the Redbirds and Braves standing tied at 30 through the first six minutes of the second half before the hosts ran off a 10-0 run, stretching the lead to 10. With 9:17 to play in the game, the Redbirds started chipping away at the deficit, eventually tying the game on a lay-up by Poindexter with 3:24 to play in the game. The hosts responded with five straight points, and ISU would only get back to within as few as four the rest of the way, including at the final buzzer.
The Redbirds held Bradley – the NCAA three-point percentage leader – to a season-low 22.2 percentage from long range, and just 42 percent overall from the field.
Bradley was led by 11 points from Zek Montgomery and Duke Deen, while Christian Davis added 10 for the hosts.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois State used a starting lineup of 3 Dalton Banks, 4 Landon Wolf, 5 Jordan Davis, 11 Johnny Kinziger, and 35 Chase Walker
- It was the second time this season ISU has used this starting lineup
- The Redbirds won the opening tip
- The first points of the game came from Johnny Kinziger on a lay-up with 18:20 to play in the first half
- It was the seventh time he scored ISU's first points of the game this season, the second-most on the team
- The first subs for Illinois State were Caden Boser and Malachi Poindexter with 15:48 to play in the first half
- Bradley led 28-26 at halftime
- Illinois State committed just eight turnovers, the 10th game this season with single-digit turnovers for the Redbirds, the second-most in a season since 1989-90
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Dalton Banks
- Tied his season-high with four steals
- Now has 13 games this season with at least four assists
- Landon Wolf
- Has now made multiple three-pointers in a game nine times this season
- Johnny Kinziger
- Reached double-figure scoring for the fifth consecutive game, and for the 17th time in 20 games played this season
- Led ISU in scoring for the fifth time this season
- Has made multiple three-pointers 15 times this season
- Ty Pence
- Had his eighth double-figure scoring game of the season
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