KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Winning the program's first in-season Multi-Team Event title since the 2010-11 season, the Illinois State Redbirds topped the Furman Paladins by a score of 72-65 behind a career-high 20 points from tournament MVP Ty Pence, who also grabbed 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After seeing Furman score the opening basket of the game, the Redbirds scored five straight, and would hold their lead until the last minute of the opening half. ISU's lead grew to as large as 10 on an 8-0 Redbird run, before the Paladins started chipping away at the deficit, using a late 10-0 run to take a 36-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The second half started back and forth, with Furman's last lead coming with 11:55 to play in the game before ISU put together back-to-back runs of 5-0 and 8-0, turning the two-point deficit into an eight-point lead. Furman got as close as three with 39 seconds left, but a Johnny Kinziger jumper and a pair of free throws iced the game for ISU.
KEY STATISTICS
- The Redbirds opened with the starting lineup of 10 Ty'Reek Coleman, 11 Johnny Kinziger, 14 Boden Skunberg, 22 Ty Pence, and 35 Chase Walker
- This is ISU's fifth game with this lineup
- ISU wore its throwback white uniforms for the third time this season
- The Redbirds are 14-0 all-time when wearing this set of white throwback uniforms, and 3-0 in 2025-26
- Illinois State won the opening tip
- ISU's first points of the game came from Ty Pence on a three-point jump shot with 18:52 on the first-half clock
- Illinois State's first subs were Brandon Lieb and Landon Wolf with 14:50 to play in the first half
- Furman led 36-33 at halftime
- Ty Pence scored a career-high 20 points, his third double-figure scoring game this season, and 15th of his career
- He tied his career-high with 10 rebounds, recording the second double-double of his career
- Chase Walker reached double-figures for the fourth time this season, scoring 14 points, his 31st double-figure scoring game of his career
- Boden Skunberg scored 12 points for his second consecutive game in double-figures, his fourth of the season, and 61st of his college career
- His two steals are a season-high
- Kinziger scored 11 points, reaching double-digits for the seventh time this season and 50th time of his Redbird career
- Ty'Reek Coleman set his career-high with four assists and two steals
- The Redbirds out-rebounded Furman 35-to-30 in the game, the seventh time in eight games that ISU has out-rebounded its opponents
- The Redbirds are looking for their first MTE Tournament title since the 2010-11 season when ISU took first at the Global Sports Roundball Classic, hosted in Normal, Illinois, with wins over South Dakota, Louisiana-Monroe, and Jacksonville State
- The Redbirds win in their first game against Furman
- The win was ISU's first this season when being tied or trailing at halftime
NEXT UP
The Redbirds return home for a pair of home games over the following week, starting on December 3 against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.
