 Coming off a season-low five-point performance in the Redbirds' loss
to Wyoming on Tuesday, Jackie Carmichael responded with 24 points
and seven rebounds, his second-best offensive output of the season.
John Wilkins added a season-high 16 points off the bench, while
Tyler Brown chipped in 13.
ISU started the game scoreless on its first six possessions, with
0-for-5 shooting and one turnover. The slow start allowed the
Broncos to jump out to an 8-0 lead before Johnny Hill got the
Redbirds on the board at the 15:48 mark with a driving baseline
layup. After another Bronco bucket, ISU went on a 9-2 run to pull
within one. Carmichael scored four straight points, with Jordan
Threloff adding a layup, before Wilkins broke ISU's 0-for-4 start
behind the arc with a 3 to make it 12-11 WMU with 12:24 left in the
half.
After two free throws for each team, the Redbirds took their
first lead of the game when Carmichael banked in a jumper to put ISU
on top 15-14 at the 11:07 mark. With the game tied 17-17 at the 8:47
mark, the Redbirds began a 12-3 run, which included eight straight
points. Brown capped the spurt with his first 3 of the game, giving
ISU a 29-20 lead with 5:37 left in the half.
Despite the Redbird defense holding WMU without a field goal from
the 7:24 to 2:00 marks, the Broncos were able to stay in the game
via the charity stripe. WMU made seven free throws during the
stretch, before a Brandon Pokely 3 broke the drought and made the
score 35-30 Redbirds. Still leading by five points at 40-35 with the
first half winding down, Carmichael hit a jumper from the top of the
key as time expired to give ISU a 42-35 halftime advantage.
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Carmichael picked up where he left off to begin the second
half, scoring the Redbirds' first four points of the stanza. The
Redbirds equaled their largest lead of the game, nine, three
times in the second half's first four-plus minutes, while never
leading by less than six during the stretch.
ISU extended its lead coming out of the under-16-minute media
timeout, as Brown connected on a jumper before Nick Zeisloft hit a
3-pointer from the right wing to put ISU up 56-42. Another Zeisloft
triple at the 13:00 mark pushed the lead back to 14, at 59-45.
The Broncos climbed back within 10 before Brown connected from
behind the arc, extending ISU's lead to 64-51 with 10:11 remaining.
After two Threloff free throws put ISU up 66-53 at 9:31 mark,
neither team scored for the next two-plus minutes. After WMU made
four straight free throws to climb back within nine, Wilkins found
Carmichael for an open layup that pushed ISU's lead back to
double-digits for good, at 68-57. Two possessions later, Hill
penetrated the lane before finding Geoffrey Allen for a 3 that gave
the Redbirds another 14-point lead, at 71-57, with 5:20 remaining.
From there, the Redbirds outscored the Broncos 14-6 to close out
the win. Wilkins scored nine points during the run, giving him his
second straight double-digit offensive output.
The Redbirds will conclude their three-game homestand Sunday,
Dec. 16, against Morgan State. Tipoff is set for 4:35 p.m.
[Text from
news release received from
Illinois State University]
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