Illinois State falls to Oakland

[December 18, 2013]  ROCHESTER, Mich. — Despite Illinois State leading by as many as 12 points in the first half, Oakland came from behind to beat the Redbirds 90-75 Monday night at the Athletics Center O'rena.

Daishon Knight and Paris Lee scored 14 points each to lead ISU (5-5), while Travis Bader led the Golden Grizzlies (3-9) with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Illinois State was held to 37.9 percent from the field, despite hanging close through the first half. By contrast, Oakland — in the midst of playing the toughest nonconference schedule in the country, according to USA Today — made 31 of 56 field goals for 55.4 percent.

The Golden Grizzlies also enjoyed a 44-29 rebounding edge while outscoring ISU 42-16 in the paint. For the second time this season, five Redbirds reached double figures, with Tony Wills (12), Nick Zeisloft (11) and Bobby Hunter joining Knight and Lee. Wills earned career highs in scoring, field goals (4), rebounding (6) and assists (4).

After netting the game's first five points, Illinois State jumped out to an 18-6 lead with 15:06 left in the first half, following a 13-0 run that was sparked by a Zeisloft 3-pointer and capped off by a pair of Hunter free throws. The Redbirds maintained their advantage until the 3:53 mark, when Corey Petros netted a layup to lift Oakland in front 33-31.

A layup by Zach Lofton tied the game again with 52 seconds remaining in the half; however, Kahlil Felder tipped in a basket with less than one second left to secure a 40-38 halftime lead for Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies started the second half on a 12-0 run to establish a double-digit advantage. Although the Redbirds trimmed their deficit to nine points with 9:50 to play, ISU never pulled closer.

With Illinois State's final nonconference road game complete, the Redbirds return to Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena for back-to-back home games, beginning Thursday against Tennessee State at 7:05 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Redbird Arena ticket office at 309-438-8000 or by clicking here (GoRedbirds.com).

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ISU-Oakland statistics  (PDF)

[Text from file received from Illinois State University]