|
 Carmichael led the way with 24 points and tied a season high with
14 rebounds, recording his 10th double-double of the season and the
30th of his career at Illinois State. Brown was the only other
Redbird in double figures, with 23 points, thanks to a 12-for-17
effort from the free-throw line. The duo combined for 47 of ISU’s 67
total points on the night.
Illinois State jumped out to an 8-4 lead, with Carmichael scoring
the first six points for the Redbirds. Evansville battled back to
take a 14-9 advantage, after a layup by D.J. Balentine capped off a
10-1 run for the Aces. The Redbirds then answered with a 9-2 run to
take an 18-16 lead with seven minutes left in the first half, after
Kaza Keane hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Anthony
Cousin hit a jumper in the lane.
A long 3-pointer by Ned Cox ended the Evansville five-minute
scoring drought and put the Aces back up 19-18, but Nick Zeisloft
answered with a 3 of his own to give the Redbirds the lead right
back at 21-19 with just over four minutes left in the first half.
Tyler Brown scored six straight points on a 3-pointer and a
converted three-point play, as he was fouled while making a reverse
layup to extend the run, and Carmichael added a pair of free throws
to give the Redbirds their largest lead of the game at 29-19 with
1:27 left on the clock.
Balentine ended another long scoring drought, this one lasting
three-plus minutes, with a 3-pointer with 1:10 left on the clock,
cutting the lead to 29-22. The Redbirds would get the last shot of
the half, as Carmichael hit a step-back jumper in the lane to send
ISU into the locker room with a 31-22 lead.
The Redbirds controlled the first four minutes of the second
half and kept a nine-point lead at 39-30, after a free throw by
Carmichael. Over the next five minutes ISU would sputter, as
Evansville went on a 16-3 run to take a 46-42 lead on a
Balentine 3-pointer with just over 11 minutes left in the game.
[to top of second column] |
Brown converted a 3-point play two minutes later to knot the game
at 46-46, before a jumper by Balentine put the Aces back up by two.
Carmichael would then hit a pair of free throws on the other end of
the floor to tie the game at 48-48 with 8:22 remaining on the clock,
and his dunk just over a minute later would give ISU a 50-48 lead.
ISU’s lead would grow to six points at 54-48 after Brown hit two
free throws, before Ryan hit two free throws of his own on the Aces’
next possession to cut the lead back to four at 54-50 with five
minutes left in the game.
ISU would stretch the lead out to eight points at 59-51 with 3:31
left, when Brown converted on another three-point play after he was
fouled driving to the hoop. A couple of baskets by Evansville cut
into the ISU lead, but Brown made three free throws on the other end
and Carmichael made a layup to grow the lead to 64-55.
The Aces refused to go away, as Cox hit a pair of free throws and
Lewis Jones added a 3-pointer to make the score 66-60 with 43
seconds left on the clock. The late run was not enough, though, as
the Redbirds held on for a 67-62 victory and their third straight
conference victory.
ISU returns to action Tuesday, when the Redbirds travel
Interstate 74 to face in-state rival Bradley. Tipoff is scheduled
for 7:05 p.m. at Carver Arena, with the game broadcast live on
Valley TV and ESPN3.
___
Box score
Postgame notes
[Text from
news release received from
Illinois State University] |
