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Missouri State holds off Redbirds in OT
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[January 04, 2014]
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — After
Illinois State led for more than 39 minutes of Thursday's Missouri
Valley Conference opener at Missouri State, the Bears (11-2, 1-0 MVC)
came from behind to force overtime and ultimately beat the Redbirds
(7-6, 0-1 MVC) 78-70 at JQH Arena.
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 ISU shot a season-best 58.1 percent in the first half but was held to
34.6 percent in the second. Meanwhile, Missouri State went 4 for 5
and outscored the Redbirds 12-4 in the five-minute overtime period.
Daishon Knight led Illinois State with 15 points and seven rebounds,
plus four assists and one block. Bobby Hunter (11), Paris Lee (10)
and Tony Wills (10) also reached double-digit scoring. Missouri
State's Jamar Gulley led the game with 22 points.
Illinois State jumped out to an early 13-7 lead, with five points
from Knight during the opening stretch. After the Bears pulled
within 15-14, the Redbirds manufactured a 6-2 run to take a 21-16
advantage. ISU extended its lead to 16 points — its largest of the
game — at the 3:56 mark, and the Redbirds led 41-31 at halftime.
Missouri State outscored ISU 9-3 over the opening three minutes
of the second half to pull within 44-40. However, the Redbirds
answered with an 8-0 run that included back-to-back Hunter
3-pointers to push Illinois State ahead 52-40 at the 13:56 mark.
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The Bears narrowed the gap to 63-60 on a 6-2 run, with all six
points by Gulley. Missouri State took its first lead of the game on
a free throw by Keith Pickens with 29.3 seconds remaining. However,
ISU's Reggie Lynch tied the game with a free throw to send it to
overtime, where the Bears took a permanent lead.
Illinois State now returns to Normal, Ill., where the Redbirds
will open their home Valley schedule on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. against
Southern Illinois.
Tickets can be purchased by calling or visiting the Redbird
Arena ticket office, or by buying them on
GoRedbirds.com.
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ISU-Missouri
State statistics (PDF)
[Text from
news release received from
Illinois State University] |
