ISU Comeback Falls Short at Southern Illinois

[February 09, 2015]  CARBONDALE, Ill. – Illinois State surmounted an 18-point first-half deficit to briefly take a second-half lead; however, Southern Illinois held on for a 65-59 Missouri Valley Conference victory over the Redbirds Saturday afternoon at SIU Arena.

Trailing, 32-14, at the 6:28 mark in the first half, ISU (15-9, 7-5 MVC) pulled within 34-28 at halftime before taking a two-point advantage with 1:49 remaining in Saturday’s game. The Salukis (10-14, 3-9 MVC) outscored the Redbirds, 10-2, over the final 109 seconds to hold off ISU.

Reggie Lynch netted a career-high 18 points with eight rebounds and four blocks for Illinois State, while DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell scored a team-best 19 points. Anthony Beane led Southern Illinois with 23 points and four rebounds. The Redbirds shot 37.0 percent from the field compared to SIU’s 40.0 percent effort. ISU outrebound Southern Illinois, 37-34.
 

SIU built a 16-9 lead early, including nine points by Beane during the first eight minutes. Paris Lee stopped a 9-2 Southern Illinois run with a 3-pointer at the 10:55 mark. However, the Salukis responded with another 16-2 scoring stretch, establishing an 18-point advantage with 6:28 remaining in the first half.

The Redbirds answered with a 12-0 run, including four points by Lynch, to pull within 32-26 on a Daishon Knight 3-pointer at the 2:30 mark. Illinois State outscored Southern Illinois, 14-2, over the final 6:28 of the half to trail, 34-28, at halftime.

After Southern Illinois reestablished a double-digit lead early in the second half, a Deontae Hawkins 3-pointer pulled ISU within 40-33 at the 17:18 mark. An 8-2 SIU run from 15:45 until 9:12 increased the Saluki advantage to 48-36. The Redbirds cut their deficit to 51-42 with 6:28 remaining on four unanswered points.

Three-straight 3-pointers by Akoon-Purcell pulled ISU to within 54-51. A Lynch block followed by an Akoon-Purcell layup trimmed SIU’s lead to 54-53 with 3:50 left. After Beane made one free throw, Lynch tied the game with a layup, and the Redbirds took a 57-55 advantage on a pair of Knight free throws at the 1:49 mark.

The Redbirds held Southern Illinois without a field goal from 9:12 until 1:49; however, a layup by Beane sparked a 10-2 SIU run over the final 1:49, and the Salukis held off Illinois State.

ISU continues its road trip by traveling to Cedar Falls, Iowa to play nationally-ranked Northern Iowa this Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a game that can be seen live on ESPN3.

[John Twork, Illinois State University]

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