The Redbirds' last field goal
of the opening stanza came with nearly nine minutes left in the
period. After that, Evansville went on its decisive run to go up by
19 at halftime. The Purple Aces never looked back after that,
pushing their lead to 36 points at one point in the second half.
Illinois State falls to 6-15
overall and 2-11 in the Valley, while Evansville ups its record to
5-16 and 4-9 in the conference.
Evansville's Clint Cuffle led
all scorers with 21 points, 14 of them in the first half. He scored
eight points in Evansville's critical run before intermission.
[to top of second column in this
article]
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Najeeb Echols, who made eight
of 13 free throws, led Illinois State with 16 points. Gregg
Alexander chipped in 12, while Greg Dilligard made all five of his
field goals for 10 points. Illinois State shot just 29.8 percent
from the field, while allowing the Purple Aces to shoot at a 54.4
percent clip.
The
Redbirds return to action Saturday at Redbird Arena with a matchup
against Indiana State at 2 p.m.
[Illinois State University
news release] |