Plank tip-in steals a Redbird victory      

[FEB. 2, 2005]  DES MOINES, Iowa -- Illinois State's Neil Plank tipped in a missed jumper by Vince Greene with three seconds left in the game to give the Redbirds their first lead of the half and a 59-58 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Drake at the Knapp Center on Tuesday night.

The road win was the third for the 'Birds in the last four tries and lifted their record to 15-6 overall and 7-4 in the Valley. Drake fell to 7-12 and 3-8, respectively.

Lorenzo Gordon, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored the first 14 of Illinois State's second-half points. Gordon finished with a game-high 19 tallies, all in the second frame. The Redbirds trailed by as much as eight points in the second half, including a 58-51 deficit with 1:48 left on the clock. A pair of Vince Greene 3s following Drake turnovers closed the gap to 58-57, setting the stage for Plank's heroics.

Drake's David Bancroft missed the front end of a 1-and-1 from the foul line, giving the Redbirds possession with 29 seconds remaining. After a Drake deflection forced the ball out of bounds with 14 seconds left, Greene penetrated the lane, drawing three defenders, but his shot fell short. Plank was in position for the carom and bounced it off the glass for ISU's first lead since the 15:03 mark in the first half.

Both offenses started cold, with the Redbirds taking a 6-2 lead five minutes into the game. The Bulldogs responded with an 8-0 run, including four points by Aloiu Keita, to take a 10-6 edge. Plank's 3-point play at the 4:47 mark knotted the game at 20-20. Plank and Drake's Klayton Korver traded treys to tie the game again at 23-23.

Greene finished with 14 points, while Gordon added nine boards to his 19 points. Drake had three players in double digits, led by Korver with 14 points.

With Trey Guidry and Lorenzo Gordon on the ISU bench with two fouls each, Chris Bryant and Korver each added 3s to give the Bulldogs a six-point lead at 29-23. Gregg Alexander tossed in his first 3 of the game with 1:51 left in the half to close out the scoring in the first frame and cut into the Drake lead at 29-26.

Illinois State returns to action on Saturday as the Redbirds open a four-game homestand against Interstate 74 rival Bradley.

[Todd Kober, assistant athletics director, media relations,
Illinois State University]

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