NORMAL, Ill. – Behind two runs of 8-0 and another of 14-0 in the second half, the Illinois State Redbirds out-scored Valparaiso 52-30 in the second half, as the hosts erased a seven-point deficit early in the second half to top the Valparaiso Beacons on Thursday by an 86-64 final score.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half saw six ties and five lead changes, as the Redbirds led by as many as five and the Beacons by seven in the first half. Trailing by seven with 3:04 to play in the opening half, the Redbirds closed the first period on an 11-4 run, knotting the score at 34 following five points from Johnny Kinziger over the final minute.
Valparaiso scored the first seven points of the second half to lead 41-34, and the visitors led by six at 43-37 before the Redbirds outscored the visitors 41-14 over a 12-minute span – highlighted by two separate 8-0 runs and capped by a 14-0 run – to lead by 21, as ISU closed the game with a 22-point, 86-64 victory.
KEY STATISTICS / NOTES
- The Redbirds opened with the starting lineup of 3 Mason Klabo, 4 Landon Wolf, 11 Johnny Kinziger, 14 Boden Skunberg, and 35 Chase Walker
- This is ISU's third game with this starting lineup this season
- ISU wore its throwback white uniform for the 12th time this season
- Valparaiso won the opening tip
- ISU's first points of the game came from Chase Walker on a three-pointer with 19:23 on the first half clock
- This game was the eighth time this season he has scored ISU's first points
- Illinois State and Valparaiso were tied at 34 at halftime
- The game was the third time this season that ISU was tied with their opponent at the break
- ISU outscored Valparaiso by 22 in the second half, and the Redbirds have outscored their MVC opponents by 71 in the second half this season, the most in the MVC
- The Redbirds had eight players score 7+ points in the game
- Illinois State's 14-0 run in the second half is tied for the fourth-longest scoring run this season for the Redbirds, and the 14th "kill shot" of the season (a run of 10-0 or more)
- The Redbirds were a perfect 17-of-17 from the free throw line, the fourth-most free throw makes without a miss in school history, trailing only a 21-for-21 game against Florida State on February 12, 1976, a 21-for-21 game against Western Illinois on January 18, 1964, and 19-for-19 on February 4, 2009, against Southern Illinois
- The 17-for-17 is the best free throw shooting game in CEFCU Arena / Redbird Arena history
- The free throw game is tied for the 11th-best free throw percentage game in the NCAA this season, and the highest in the MVC
- Johnny Kinziger scored a game-high 21 points, making 7-of-15 shots from the field and 3-of-8 from long range
- With his 21 points, his career scoring total has reached 1,088, tied for 36th in school history, as he climbs three players: Ron deVries (1,068, 1971-74), Rickie Johnson (1,068, 1981-85), and Milik Yarbrough (1,018 (2017-19), and is tied with Derrick Sanders (1983-87) for 36th in program history
- His point total tied his season-high, and is his 12th 20+ scoring game of his career
- He also tied a season-high with seven made field goals and three three-point field goals
- Ty'Reek Coleman scored 14 points, his 11th game this season with double-digit points
- He made 6-of-10 shots from the field and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe in the win
- Chase Walker reached double-figure scoring for the 17th time this season and 44th time in his career, as he was 4-for-4 from the field, 1-of-1 from long range, and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe
- For the fourth consecutive game, Landon Wolf reached double-digit scoring, as he put in 10 points while adding seven rebounds and a team-high two steals
- He has made 21 of his last 39 three-point attempts (53.8 percent), and 36-of-63 (57.1 percent) from the field over his last 12 games
- Ty Pence scored eight points off the bench for ISU, while recording team-highs with eight rebounds and four assists
- The four assists are the fifth time this season he has had 3+ assists in a game, and also the fifth time with 7+ rebounds in a game
- Mason Klabo added eight points, making 2-of-6 from the field and all four of his free throws
- Landon Moore scored seven points, giving him 23 points over his last two contests
- ISU out-rebounded Valparaiso 39-to-32, while the Redbirds had a 12-to-10 assist-to-turnover ratio (7-to-2 in the second half)
- The Redbirds made 51.7 percent of their shots from the field, the teams' 11th game making at least half of their field goal tries in a game
NEXT UP
The Redbirds head north to Chicago for a Sunday, February 15 battle with the UIC Flames at the Credit Union 1 Arena starting at 2 p.m.
