Eldridge, Redbirds Top UIC 77-69
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[DEC. 26, 2006]
CHICAGO
– Freshman Osiris Eldridge returned to his hometown of Chicago and
led Illinois State to a 77-69 non-conference victory over
Illinois-Chicago at the UIC Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. Eldridge
tossed in a career-high 19 points and added six rebounds in the
victory.
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With the win, ISU improved to 8-4 on the season,
while Illinois-Chicago lost its third straight and fell to 6-8 on
the year.
UIC jumped out to a 5-0 lead with a pair of baskets by Josh Mayo.
The two teams exchanged buckets before Illinois State took control
of the first half with an 18-4 run, which included a pair of
three-point baskets by Dom Johnson, as the Redbirds took a 20-11
lead with 10:09 on the clock.
The Flames used an 18-10 spurt to get within a single point at 30-29
with 3:09 left in the half, but a Boo Richardson three-pointer and a
fast break lay up by Greg Dilligard gave the Redbirds a 35-29 lead
with 1:10 on the clock. Richardson had a chance to add to the
halftime lead after being fouled on a three-point try, but the
junior point guard only hit one of his three charity shots and ISU
held a 36-32 edge at the intermission.
ISU opened up the second half by sinking its first four treys,
including a pair by Levi Dyer as the Redbirds built a 48-38 lead
with 16:50 left in the contest. UIC responded with a 7-0 spurt, but
then ISU’s Eldridge went on a run of his own. With the Redbirds
leading 48-45, Eldridge rattled off eight straight points and added
a pair of rebounds to give ISU a 56-45 lead with 11:36 left.
Again the Flames bounced back with a 13-3 run to cut the ISU lead to
60-58 with 7:02 left. UIC took its first lead since the 16:04 mark
of the first half when Karl White made a three-pointer with 4:52 on
the clock at 63-62. The lead was short-lived as Johnson and Anthony
Slack added a pair of field goals to give the ‘Birds a 66-63 lead.
UIC’s Othyus Jeffers and Daniel Zoric each added a pair of buckets
to give the Flames a 67-66 lead, but the Redbirds closed the game
with a 11-2 run thanks to six points by Eldridge and five tallies
from Richardson.
Eldridge led the Redbirds with four players in double digits,
including Richardson (17), Johnson (14) and Dyer (10). UIC was led
by T.J. Gray, who poured in 14 points.
The Redbirds return to action on Friday when ISU hosts Southern
Illinois at 6:05 p.m.
[News release] |
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