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Trailing 44-33 with 9:54 left in the game, the Redbirds (0-1) used a
19-5 run, including 10 points by Boo Richardson, to take a 52-49
lead with 3:43 on the clock. However, Ike Ofoegbu scored 11 of the
Mustangs' final 13 points to give SMU (1-0) a 55-52 lead with 1:50
remaining. Dominitrix Johnson buried a deep 3-pointer, his fifth of
the game, to tie the score at 55-55 with 27 seconds on the clock.
Holding for the last possession, Roberts drove along the left
side of the lane and his layup bounced off the rim, but Pearson
flashed in from the right side with the tip-in.
The 3-ball was working early for the Redbirds, as ISU shot its
way to an early 16-7 lead with 12:13 left in the first half. After
trailing 7-6, the Redbirds took a 10-0 run, with treys from post
players Anthony Slack and Levi Dyer. However, ISU suffered through a
pair of four-minute scoring droughts in the final 12 minutes, and
SMU responded with an 18-5 spurt to take a 25-21 lead. Thanks to
Bamba Fall's jumper at the buzzer, the Mustangs took a 29-23 lead at
the intermission.
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 Johnson led the way for the Redbirds with 15 points, with all
five baskets coming from beyond the arc. Richardson added 10 points,
while Slack finished with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
SMU was led by Ofoegbu, who finished with 21 points, and Bamba Fall,
who tossed in 11.
The Redbirds shot 35 percent from the field, including 31 percent
in the first half. ISU also finished with nine free-throw attempts,
while SMU recorded 25.
Illinois State will return to action on Monday night, when the
Redbirds will face host Florida State in the second day of the
Colonial Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central time.
[Game
statistics] [To download Adobe Acrobat Reader for the PDF
file, click here.]
[Illinois
State University news release provided by Todd Kober, assistant
athletics director, media relations] |
