Men's Basketball

Redbirds Win Thriller Over Sycamores

[January 28, 2008]  NORMAL -- A career-high 15 points by sophomore forward Dinma Odiakosa, along with sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge's 16th straight double-digit scoring effort, helped the Illinois State men's basketball team hold off a persistent offensive attack from Indiana State, as the Redbirds (15-5, 7-2 MVC) defeated the Sycamores 65-62 Sunday afternoon on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. The game featured four lead changes, as Illinois State held a double-digit lead just twice in the game.

With 15 points in the game, Chicago native Eldridge reached the plateau of 600 career points scored and also tied his career high for assists with five. Senior guard Boo Richardson chipped in with seven points and had a career-best-tying five rebounds, while junior forward Brandon Sampay recorded a career-best and game-high nine rebounds. Indiana State was led offensively by Marico Stinson's 22 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.

Richardson was the early offensive catalyst for the Redbirds, as he picked up two assists and two points to put the Redbirds up 6-2 just after the 19-minute mark of the first half. Dyer then forced the Sycamores into their first timeout of the game at the 16:09 mark with a 3-pointer from the left side that capped off an 11-2 Redbird run to start the game.

Indiana State mounted a comeback midway through the first half, as Marico Stinson had four points in a two-minute stretch and put the Sycamores within three, 13-10, just before the 12-minute mark. Two quick baskets by Isiah Martin gave the Sycamores a 25-23 advantage as the Redbird offense continued to stall.

Both teams exchanged leads over the final three minutes of the first half, as Dyer and Odiakosa briefly put the Redbirds up 27-25 before the Sycamores dropped in a quick basket to regain the lead at 28-27. Elrdidge gave the Redbirds some much-needed offensive momentum heading into the locker room, as he put up a dunk and a fast-break layup just past the one-minute mark to give Illinois State a 33-28 halftime advantage.

The Redbirds started the second half just as they had left the first stanza: on a hot streak. A 2-point basket by Odiakosa, followed by a fast-break layup by Richardson off a quick pass from Eldridge put Illinois State up by eight points, 38-30, just two minutes into the half. Two straight 3-pointers by Eldridge gave Illinois State its first double-digit lead of the game at 46-36.

Just as it had done midway through the first half when Illinois State looked like it was going to pull away with the game, Indiana State continued to ride the heels of the Redbirds, as 3-pointers by Gabe Moore and Stinson just before the 10-minute mark of the period cut the Illinois State lead to two points at 46-44.

Despite a persistent offensive effort from the Sycamores, Illinois State continued to hold Indiana State at bay, as junior guard Emmanuel Holloway put the Redbird offense back in sync with a key 3-pointer from the left baseline after a block of a Sycamore 3-point attempt on the other end. After Indiana State tied the game at 56-56 just past the five-minute mark of the half off a 3-pointer by Moore, Holloway stepped up again with just under three minutes left and drained a 3-pointer to give Illinois State a 59-56 advantage.

The lead did not last for long, however, as Stinson countered with a 3-pointer of his own to tie the score at 59-59 with two minutes left in the game. After Stinson missed a jumper from 14 feet out, Eldridge stepped up from the right side of the court and hit a 3-pointer with 37.3 seconds remaining on the clock to put the game away for Illinois State.

Illinois State will return to action Wednesday when it travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to take on Northern Iowa. Tipoff from the McLeod Center is set for 7:05 p.m.

[Text from file received from Keith Trivitt, media relations graduate assistant, Illinois State University]