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Illinois State holds on, defeats Evansville 65-57
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[JAN. 17, 2006]
NORMAL -- A
3-point basket by Brandon Holtz with eight minutes left to play in
the first half gave Illinois State a 10-point lead that propelled
the Redbirds to a 65-57 win over Evansville in Missouri Valley
Conference action Monday night at Redbird Arena in front of 4,143
fans.
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Illinois State improves to 7-9 overall and 2-6 in Valley play, while
Evansville falls to 5-10 overall and 1-6 in the league. Holding
Evansville to only 30.8 percent shooting from the field in the first
half, Illinois State was able to take the lead in the opening
minutes of play. The two teams traded baskets early, until the
Redbirds took a five-point lead off a Greg Dilligard layup and a
tip-in by Nedu Onyeuku.
A Dana Ford layup sparked a 10-3 run at the 11:22 mark in the
first half. The ISU run was halted on a 3-pointer by Evansville's
Justin Petty with 7:40 left to go in the half. The Redbirds hit four
straight free throws to take a 33-20 into the locker room at the
break.
Down by 13 points at the half, the Aces battled back on a tip-in
by Art Stalbergs and a layup by Shy Ely, which cut the lead to nine
just a minute into the second half. Illinois State went on to rack
up 12 points to gain its largest lead of the half at 45-27.
Evansville continued to claw its way back, eventually cutting the
Redbird lead to three points at 48-45 with 4:51 to go in the half.
But that was as close as Evansville got as the Redbirds sealed the
win with 13 free throws.
[to top of second column]
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 The Redbirds made a season-high 23 free throws on 37 attempts to
hang on to the lead in the second half. The 'Birds also recorded a
season-high 44 rebounds.
Onyeuku and the Aces' Ely led all scorers with 14 points each,
while Khalif Ford tied his career high with 11 points and seven
rebounds for the 'Birds. Neil Plank also chipped in 11 points and
seven rebounds, while Mike Vandello and Dilligard added 10 points
each. Dilligard also pulled down 10 boards on the night for his
third career double-double.
Up next for the Redbirds will be a 2:05 p.m. matchup against
Southern Illinois on Sunday in Carbondale.
[Illinois
State University news release provided by Todd Kober, assistant
athletics director, media relations]
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