NORMAL, Ill. – Despite 25 points from Chase Walker and 22 from Johnny Kinziger, the Illinois State men's basketball team fell to the MVC-leading Drake Bulldogs on Wednesday night by an 84-77 final score inside CEFCU Arena.
Walker scored a game-high-tying 25 points, making 10-of-15 shots from the field and 5-of-8 from the charity stripe, while also pulling down a game-high-tying seven rebounds. Kinziger added 22 points, making 5-of-7 shots from the field, half of his four three-point attempts, while setting career-highs with 10 free throw makes and 12 free throw attempts. Ty Pence also reached double-figure scoring for the Birds by making 4-of-5 shots from the field, and half of his two free throw and three-point attempts.
Malachi Poindexter dished out a team-best three assists, while Walker and Kinziger each had two steals to lead the team.
Following the team's one-game return home, the squad takes back to the road on Saturday, February 15 when the team travels to Terre Haute, Indiana, to take on the Indiana State Sycamores in a noon tip-off at the Hulman Center.
The teams traded baskets at the onset of the game, with the Redbirds pushing ahead 11-8 with 14:50 to play in the opening half before the visiting Bulldogs ran off eight consecutive points to jump to a 16-11 lead, and the visitor would not trail again in the contest. ISU tied the game at 18 on a Dalton Banks three-pointer, but the Redbirds could not re-take the lead, and trailed 40-32 heading into the locker room at halftime.
The Redbirds closed the gap to seven points six and a half minutes into the second half; however, Drake pushed back ahead, and stretched the lead to 15 with 8:11 to play in the game. ISU would not go quietly, and kept fighting, cutting the gap to seven by the final buzzer in the 84-77 loss.
For the 15th time in 26 games the Redbirds made over half of their shots in a game, and the team's .578 field goal percentage was the fourth-best of the season. ISU made 52.4 percent of its shots in the first half and was a blistering 15-of-24 (62.5%) in the second half.
Drake was led by Bennett Stirtz who scored 25 points with seven rebounds and six assists, while Mitch Mascari scored 18 points and Kael Combs 13.
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 seventh time this season ISU has used this starting lineup
- The Redbirds won the opening tip
- The first points of the game came from Chase Walker on a dunk with 18:22 to play in the first half
- It was the 12th time this season scored ISU's first points of the game
- The first sub for Illinois State was Ty Pence with 15:07 to play in the first half
- Drake led 45-38 at halftime
- The game was the fourth time this season that ISU had two players score 20+ points in the same game
- ISU made over half of its field goal attempts for the 15th time this season, the most in a season since at least 1984-85
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Johnny Kinziger
- Scored in double-figures for the 21st time this season, and the 34th of his career
- Reached the 20-point plateau for the sixth time this season and ninth of his Redbird career
- Set career-highs with 10 free throw makes and 12 free throw attempts
- Has made 10-of-18 shots, 6-of-9 from distance, and 12-of-14 free throws over his last two games
- Ty Pence
- Reached double-figure scoring for the ninth time this season with 10 points against the Bulldogs
- Made 4-of-5 shots overall and 1-of-2 from both the three-point arc and the free throw line
- Chase Walker
- Tied his career-high by making 10 shots and attempting 15
- Scored in double-figures for the 19th time this season and 20th time in his career
- Scored 20+ points for the fourth time in the last five games, and for the eighth time in total this season
- Led the Redbirds in scoring for the eighth time and rebounding for the 11th
- Over his last five games he is averaging 21.6 points, while making 40-of-59 shots from the field (67.8%)
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