|
 The Redbirds (19-11, 11-7 MVC) extended their winning streak to a
season-best four games ahead of next week’s Missouri Valley
Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament. With Saturday’s win over the
Purple Aces (19-11, 9-9 MVC), ISU tied Indiana State for third place
in the final league standings and secured the MVC Tournament’s No. 4
seed. Illinois State will once again play Evansville – the MVC
Tournament’s No. 5 seed – Friday, March 6 at 2:30 p.m. in the
tournament quarterfinals.
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell scored a team-high 16 points in ISU’s victory
at Evansville, including a clutch layup with two seconds remaining
in regulation to force overtime. Paris Lee and Reggie Lynch also
reached double-figures, with 12 points apiece. Illinois State shot
42.0 percent from the field compared to UE’s 40.0 percent, and the
Redbirds outrebounded the Purple Aces, 49-31, including a
season-high 21 offensive boards. Akoon-Purcell and John Jones each
collected nine rebounds, marking a career-best for Jones. Limited to
four first-half points, Evansville’s D.J. Balentine led all scorers
with 22 points.
 After falling behind, 8-4, early, the Redbirds went on a 7-0 run to
take an 11-8 advantage at the 12:43 mark. ISU extended its lead to
18-10 on a Lee 3-pointer followed by two Lee free throws. However,
Evansville pulled within 24-23 at the 4:21 mark after outscoring ISU,
13-6, over a 6:12 stretch. Illinois State answered with
five-straight to take a 29-23 advantage, and the Redbirds led at
halftime, 31-27. Lee paced all first-half scorers with eight points
on 2-for-2 shooting from beyond the arc and a 3-for-3 effort at the
free throw line.
Illinois State outscored UE, 9-5, to start the second half, and the
Redbirds went on to build an eight-point advantage, 40-32, at the
15:47 mark. An 11-2 Evansville run pushed the Purple Aces back in
front, 53-52, on a layup by Egidijus Mockevicius with 5:04
remaining. A Lynch layup at the 1:24 mark tied the game, 59-59;
however, Evansville answered with two free throws by Adam Wing with
13 seconds to play. Trailing by two, Akoon-Purcell penetrated the
lane, scoring a layup with two seconds left, tying the game, 61-61,
and forcing overtime.
[to top of second column] |
In the extra period, ISU took a two-point lead with two Akoon-Purcell
free throws. A charity shot by Wing pulled the Purple Aces within
one, and a jumper by Akoon-Purcell lifted ISU ahead, 65-62. Two more
Wing free throws were matched by a Lee layup, and Mislav Brzoja’s
3-pointers with 32 seconds remaining tied the game, 67-67. Illinois
State secured the win with Knight’s baseline jumper at the
two-second mark.
The Redbirds swept the regular-season series against Evansville,
securing Illinois State’s fifth MVC regular-season sweep of the
year, signifying ISU’s most conference sweeps since the 2007-08
season. ISU also earned its fifth league road victory, the Redbirds’
most conference road wins since 2007-08.
With the regular-season complete, Illinois State begins play in the
Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament, starting
Friday at 2:30 p.m. against Evansville at Scottrade Center in St.
Louis. All-session tickets to the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference
Tournament are on sale now through the Illinois State Athletics
ticket office by either calling (309) 438-8000, or by visiting
GoRedbirds.com.
For up-to-date information about Arch Madness events, including the
Redbird Rally and other pregame and postgame social festivities,
fans can visit GoRedbirds.com\ArchMadness.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics,
tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird
merchandise, photos and more.
[John Twork, Illinois State
University]
 |
