Eldridge, Redbirds Top UIC 77-69        

[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.

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]