[January 24, 2014]NORMAL
— A loud and raucous crowd of 9,510 fans at Redbird Arena watched
Illinois State take a three-point lead into halftime against No. 4
Wichita State on Wednesday night, but a dominant second-half effort by
the undefeated Shockers (20-0, 7-0 MVC) downed the Redbirds (11-8, 4-3
MVC) by a final score of 70-55 on Doug Collins Court.
Illinois State struggled from 3-point range all night, finishing just
1 for 25 from behind the arc, and the Shockers outscored the
Redbirds 45-27 in the second half. Daishon Knight led the way for
the Redbirds with 12 points, and Bobby Hunter with 10 points was the
only other ISU player in double figures. Cleanthony Early led the
way for the Shockers with a game-high 23 points to lead a trio of
WSU players in double figures.
Illinois State jumped out to a
quick 4-0 lead, as Paris Lee and Zach Lofton each scored layups off
Wichita State turnovers. Fred Van Vleet momentarily silenced the
loud ISU crowd with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but a
jumper by Hunter put the Redbirds back up 6-3 just over 2 1/2
minutes into the game.
The Shockers would later tie the game at 8-8, after Early
connected from behind the arc in the corner with 15:06 left in the
first half. The Redbirds would get the lead back quickly at 12-8,
thanks to four straight points from Tony Wills on a layup and pair
of free throws a minute later. That lead would grow to six points
after Hunter forced a steal and took the ball the other way for a
fast-break layup.
Wichita State cut the lead back to three points at 14-11, when
Early connected on his second 3-pointer of the game, just before the
second media timeout of the half. The Redbirds would extend the lead
back out to five points at 20-15 after a layup by Lofton, but a
jumper by Ron Baker and Early's third 3-pointer of the half cut the
ISU lead back to three points at 23-20 with 4:24 left in the half.
The Shockers would then tie the game for the second time, this
time at 23-23, after Tekele Cotton connected from 3-point range with
just over three minutes left on the clock in the first half. Wichita
State eventually took its first lead of the game, when Darius Carter
scored on a layup to make the score 25-24. A jumper from Lofton with
41 seconds left in the half gave the lead back to ISU at 26-25, and
he would go on to block a shot by Baker in the lane that could have
given the Shockers the lead with four seconds left.
ISU called timeout to set up a play, and it was executed to
perfection as the long inbounds pass was taken by Reggie Lynch at
the free-throw line. He then dropped a bounce pass to a streaking
Hunter, who scored on the fast-break layup as the buzzer sounded to
send the Redbirds into the half with a three-point lead at 28-25.
Wichita State came out of the locker room on a 10-1 run to take
the lead back for good. The final three points of the run came via a
3-pointer from the corner by Baker, which forced ISU head coach Dan
Muller to call a timeout four minutes into the half. A three-point
play by Van Vleet extended the lead to 41-33, and two points from
the free-throw line by Baker after a flagrant foul by Wills extended
the WSU lead to double digits at 43-33 with 13:36 left in the game.
WSU took a 14-point lead at 50-36 following a 3-pointer by Baker
with 10:29 left, but Kaza Keane scored on a layup seconds later to
cut the lead back to 50-38.
A thunderous dunk by Cotton over John Jones grew the lead to
60-42 with 5:40 left in the game. A 9-0 run by the Redbirds cut the
Shocker lead to 60-49, thanks to four free throws from Knight and a
three-point play by Jones. However, the Shockers answered with a 5-0
run and put the game away.
The Redbirds will begin a two-game road schedule when they play
Saturday at Indiana State. Tipoff is set for 5:05 p.m. Central time
from the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.
