Slack, Dilligard lead 'Birds past Sacramento State

[NOV. 30, 2006]  NORMAL -- The Illinois State men's basketball team was dominating on the interior as junior transfer Anthony Slack recorded his first career double-double with a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds and senior Greg Dilligard recorded his second consecutive double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) for the first time in his career as Illinois State defeated Sacramento State 86-69 Wednesday night at Redbird Arena.

Slack and Dilligard were just two of five Redbirds to score in double figures as the team shot a season-high 61 percent from the field, including 7-of-15 from the 3-point stripe. Senior Roberto Fortes was steady, scoring 11 points, while sophomore Brandon Holtz came off the bench to contribute 10 points. Freshman Boo Richardson reached double figures in scoring for the fifth time this season, with 12 points, and tied his career high with eight assists.

The Hornets proved to be no match for the 'Birds on the inside, as ISU scored 50 points in the paint. The Redbirds also outrebounded CSUS 37-29 and notched six blocked shots, three coming from Slack.

With the victory, the 'Birds improve to 4-2. The Hornets fall to 4-4 on the season, despite the efforts of junior Angel Alamo, who scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.

The Hornets jumped out to an early 11-5 lead with 15:20 left in the half, thanks in large part to six early turnovers by ISU. The 'Birds regained their composure and went on a 15-4 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Fortes that gave the Redbirds a 20-15 lead at the 9:22 mark. The run was fueled by ISU's perimeter shooting, as Fortes connected on a pair of treys and Holtz also hit one from beyond the arc.

Following a Roderick Adams layup for CSUS that cut the Redbird lead to 25-23 with 5:40 left in the half, the 'Birds received baskets from six different players as they finished the half on a 14-5 run and took a 39-28 lead into intermission.

For the half, the Redbirds shot 53 percent from the field, including 5-of-9 from beyond the 3-point line. The 'Birds showed great balance, recording 22 points in the paint to go along with their 15 points from downtown. Fortes and Holtz, who connected on all five of the team's 3-point baskets in the half, led the 'Birds with nine and eight points, respectively.

The second half saw the two teams trade baskets early, but the Hornets were unable to cut the lead any further than six points at 45-39 with 15:43 left in the game. A high-rising dunk from sophomore Mike Vandello brought the crowd to its feet with 14:52 left in the game, and Slack and Richardson proved to be too much for CSUS to overcome, as the two Redbird newcomers combined to score 27 of the team's 47 points in the second half. Slack was a force inside, scoring 17 points. Richardson provided the clutch outside shooting, connecting on both of his 3-point attempts en route to scoring 10 points in the second stanza.

The Redbird basketball team will return to Redbird Arena for game two of its three-game homestand on Saturday when it faces UT-Arlington. Tipoff between the 'Birds and the Mavericks is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

[Illinois State University news release provided by Todd Kober, assistant athletics director, media relations]

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