'Birds
hold off Wisconsin-Green Bay
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[DEC. 5, 2005]
NORMAL -- Illinois State held off a late surge by
Wisconsin-Green Bay to claim its third straight win, 59-51, in front
of 5,871 fans on Neal Cotts Day at Redbird Arena.
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Wisconsin-Green Bay, 2-4, jumped out to a 5-0 lead to start the
game, with freshman Ryan Tillema recording all five points on a
3-pointer and a pair of free throws. Meanwhile, the Redbirds, 4-1,
turned the ball over on their first two possessions and lost
defensive sparkplug Dana Ford at the 17:23 mark, after he picked up
two quick fouls.
But it was all Illinois State after that, when Greg Dilligard's
jumper from the right side with 15:42 remaining in the half kicked
off an 18-2 run. Nedu Onyeuku followed with a free throw to tie it
up at 7-7 as the Redbirds took the lead for good. Six players scored
during the run, while the Phoenix suffered through a pair of
five-minute scoring droughts during the decisive run.
The Phoenix cut into the Redbird lead with less than five minutes
remaining in the half. Tillema once again led the way, with a
3-pointer, a layup and a pair of free throws, but the Redbirds still
held onto a 26-20 lead at halftime.
Tillema led all scorers in the opening half, with 12 points and
six rebounds. Onyeuku led the Redbirds' balanced scoring attack with
six points as ISU held the Phoenix to 20 percent shooting from the
field.
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2005/Dec/05/images/ads/current/LoCoBnk2.gif) |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2005/Dec/05/images/ads/current/school%20jacket%20lda%2011-11-05%20.jpg) The Redbirds kept the Phoenix at arm's length for most of the
second half, leading by no more than 10 points for most of the way.
Wisconsin-Green Bay made its move with less than three minutes to
go. Terry Evans hit a 3-pointer with 2:30 left to cut the ISU lead
to five. Neil Plank countered with a layup, but the Phoenix got
back-to-back baskets by Mike Schachtner and Evans to make it 52-49.
But that was as close as the Phoenix got, as the Redbirds iced the
win with one last field goal and free throws by Plank, Dilligard and
Levi Dyer.
Illinois State, which shot 61 percent from the field in the
second half, had three players in double figures. Plank and
Dilligard led the 'Birds with 13 points each, while Onyeuku was also
in double figures with 11. Wisconsin-Green Bay's Tillema led all
scorers with 19, while Evans chipped in 11.
Next up for the Redbirds is a 7:05 p.m. matchup with Indiana
University-Purdue University Fort Wayne at Redbird Arena on Tuesday.
[Illinois
State University news release from Heather Freehill,
assistant media relations director] |