CHICAGO – The Illinois State men's basketball team was unable to shrug off a cold start to the second half, as the Redbirds fell to the UIC Flames on Sunday afternoon by an 83-56 final score.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a back-and-forth start to the first half, each team had a large run, with the Redbirds running off nine straight on three three-pointers to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 12-5 lead. UIC answered with 10 consecutive points to re-take the lead at 15-12. There were four more lead changes and two ties over the remainder of the half, as the Flames used an10-0 push late in the first half to stretch out to a 33-to-26 halftime lead.
The Flames came out red-hot to start the second half, making their first six shots, and 15 of their first 18 to stretch to a 26-point lead, as the hosts cruised to the 27-point win.
KEY STATISTICS / NOTES
- The Redbirds opened with the starting lineup of 3 Mason Klabo, 4 Landon Wolf, 11 Johnny Kinziger, 12 Brandon Lieb, 14 Boden Skunberg
- This is ISU's first game with this starting lineup this season, and it is the seventh different starting lineup combination for ISU this year
- ISU wore its throwback red uniform for the 11th time this season
- Illinois State won the opening tip
- ISU's first points of the game came from Brandon Lieb on a lay-up with 18:01 on the first half clock
- This game was the first time this season he has scored ISU's first points
- UIC led 33-to-26 at halftime
- Johnny Kinziger had his second consecutive and 20th game this season with double-digit points as he tallied 12 against UIC
- He moved into sole possession of 36th place on the school career scoring list with 1,100 points as a Redbird
- Kinziger also led the Redbirds in assists for the 18th time this season
- With two blocked shots, Brandon Lieb had his sixth game this season with multiple blocked shots
NEXT UP
Illinois State returns home for a Wednesday evening battle against the UIC Flames, with tip-off for the game coming at 8 p.m. on the game which will be broadcast on ESPNU.
