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 The win was the third of the season for the Redbirds over the
Purple Aces and second in less than a week, following a 69-67 win
over the Aces last Saturday at the Ford Center in Evansville,
Indiana. The last time Illinois State defeated an MVC foe three
times in the same season was during the 2008-09 campaign, when the
‘Birds defeated the Purple Aces three times.
Akoon-Purcell scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, with
eight coming in the first four minutes of play, to give the Redbirds
a lead they would not relinquish over the final 16 minutes of the
game. Hawkins led the Redbirds with 17 points, one shy of his
career-best effort of 18 set against Youngstown State in November.
Hawkins finished the game a career-best 4-for-6 from three-point
range and was 6-for-12 from the field, in addition to grabbing seven
rebounds for the Redbirds in the victory over the Purple Aces.
Daishon Knight rounded out a trio of ISU players in double figures
with 12 points.
The two teams fought back and forth over the first five minutes of
the game, as the Redbirds answered a trio of three-pointers with two
of their own and a three-point play by Reggie Lynch to knot the game
at 13-13. Hawkins connected on a pair of three-pointers during the
scoring barrage, answering shots from DJ Balentine and Mislav Brzoja.
 After a layup by John Jones tied the game at 15-15, Evansville went
on a 9-0 run to take a 24-15 lead with just over nine minutes left
in the first half. The Redbirds snapped a nearly five-minute
scoreless streak on a fast break dunk by Hawkins, after Justin
McCloud came away with the steal and started the break. Evansville
widened its lead back out to eight points at 28-20 with 4:58 left in
the first half, after a free throw by Brzoja, before Akoon-Purcell
converted a second-chance opportunity on a tip-in seconds later to
cut the lead to 28-22. Knight cut the Evansville lead back to six
points at 30-24 with a pair of free throws, before Brzoja nailed a
three-pointer from the top of the key for the Aces to extend the
lead back to 33-24.
That shot was answered on the next Redbird possession by McCloud,
who nailed a three-pointer of his own. After a stop on the opposite
end of the floor, McCloud nailed his second-straight three-pointer
to cut the Evansville lead to 33-31 with 1:49 left in the half. A
jumper by Balentine and a pair of free throws by Jaylon Moore gave
Evansville a 37-31 lead with 34 seconds left and a late three-point
attempt by Knight bounced long to send the Redbirds into the locker
room trailing by six points at the break.
Illinois State scored first in the second half on a three-pointer
from the corner by Akoon-Pucell, which cut the Evansville lead to
three points at 37-34. The deficit remained three points, until a
driving layup by Knight cut the Aces’ lead to one at 39-38 at the
17:02 mark. Akoon-Purcell then gave the Redbirds their first lead
since the first possession of the game, when he converted a
three-point play as he was fouled on a jumper in the paint and made
the free throw to put ISU up 41-39 four minutes into the half.
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ISU extended its 13-2 run and took a 44-39 on a three-pointer by
Knight from the corner, but it was immediately answered on the other
end by Brzoja with a three-pointer of his own to trim the ISU lead
to 44-42 a minute later. With Illinois State maintaining a two-point
lead at 46-44, the Redbirds ripped off four quick points on a layup
by Lynch and a fast break layup by Akoon-Purcell, which forced
Evansville to call time out trailing 50-44 with 10:28 left on the
clock.
A three-pointer by Hawkins with nine minutes left gave the Redbirds
their largest lead of the game at the time at 54-46. The Aces then
went on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to three points at 54-51 with
seven minutes left in the game, after Balentine nailed a fall-away
jumper near the top of the key. Balentine continued his scoring
barrage and drained a pair of free throws to cut the Redbird lead to
one at 54-53.
The Redbirds fought back with four quick points on back-to-back
baskets by Jones and Paris Lee to extend the lead back out to five
points at 58-53. Evansville then took advantage of the Redbirds foul
trouble and made six-straight free throws to tie the game at 59-59
with 4:12 left to play. Two free throws by Knight gave the Redbirds
a 61-59 lead, but it was brief, as Egidijus Mockevicius converted a
three-point play to give the Aces a 62-61 lead.
Illinois State would answer with five quick points on a layup by
Lynch and a three-pointer by Hawkins, his fourth of the game, which
made the score 66-62 with 2:18 left in the game. A three-point play
by seconds later by Hawkins then gave the Redbirds a 69-64 advantage
with 1:27 remaining, before Evansville cut the lead to three points
at 69-66 on a dunk by Jaylon Brown with 45 seconds left in the game.
Brown had a chance to cut the lead to one point at the line, but was
only able to make the first of two free throws to trim the ISU lead
to 69-67 with 16 seconds left. After the miss on the second attempt,
Paris Lee was fouled and headed to the line and knocked down both
free throws to put ISU up 71-61 with 12.7 seconds left on the clock.
Evansville took one last chance, but a three-pointer by Brzoja
bounced long and a second-chance attempt by Mockevicius was blocked
by Lynch to end the game and secure Redbirds win.
Illinois State advanced to the semifinals to face top-seeded and
nationally-ranked Wichita State at 1:35 p.m., Saturday at the
Scottrade Center. The game will be broadcast live on WJBC AM-1230
and can be watch on Comcast SportsNet Chicago and Fox Sports
Midwest.
[Micheal Williams, Illinois State
University]
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