Second-half surge not enough for ISU, falls 64-61

[DEC. 12, 2005]  NORMAL -- The Illinois State Redbird men's basketball team mounted a tremendous comeback to take the lead in the second half after going into halftime down by 13 points. However, the comeback was not enough to put away the Georgia Southern Eagles, as late free throws helped propel the Eagles to a 64-61 win at Redbird Arena on Saturday. The loss broke a four-game winning streak for ISU, now 5-2, and snapped a two-game losing streak for GSU, now 5-4.

The two teams traded the lead for the first nine minutes of the game in an up-tempo fast-break fest. ISU took its first lead of the half at 8-6 on a coast-to-coast fast-break layup by Nedu Onyeuku. However, that lead would soon switch sides, as Georgia Southern's Donte Gennie converted a 3-point play to give the Eagles a 9-8 lead just six seconds later. Onyeuku was to thank for ISU's next lead, when his layup gave the Redbirds a 12-11 lead with 11:27 left in the half.

Georgia Southern recovered the lead at 13-12 after Sean Olivier sank two free throws as Greg Dilligard picked up his second foul of the half for ISU. That forced Dilligard to the bench, and the Eagles proceeded to go on an 11-0 run to extend their lead to 22-12 with 6:32 left in the first half. ISU went scoreless for nearly 5½ minutes before Neil Plank converted two free throws to get the Redbirds back on the scoring track at 22-14. However, the Eagles would not relinquish that lead and led by as many as 13 points on way to a 31-20 lead at halftime.

Plank led the Redbirds in scoring with eight points in the half, while Elton Nesbitt paced the Eagles' attack with nine points.

The Redbirds came out firing in the second half, with Dana Ford getting credit for the half's first basket, after a goaltending call on Georgia Southern. Ford would go on to score six quick points in the half, and Brandon Holtz's first 3-pointer of his career eventually pulled ISU within three points of the Eagles, at 38-35.

With the scored tied at 44-44, Dilligard scored two consecutive hoops, giving ISU its first lead of the second half, at 48-47. However, the Eagles would not go away, with Nesbitt leading the way with 14 points in the half. Six of those points came in the last two minutes, as Georgia Southern recovered the lead on a 3-pointer by Gennie at 60-57. The Eagles held on to that 3-point lead, with the Redbirds having a final shot at a tie. However, Neil Plank's last-second 3-pointer rimmed out, and Georgia Southern came away with a 64-61 win.

Nesbitt led all scorers with 23 and Gennie added 13 points. Three Redbirds were in double figures, with Onyeuku leading the way with a season-high 14 points.

Illinois State returns to action on Dec. 17, when the Redbirds travel to Northridge, Calif., to take on Cal State-Northridge. Tipoff is set for 9:05 p.m.

[Illinois State University news release from Michael Williams]

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