By Austin Duncan
NORMAL, Ill- For the first time in the 2015-16 season, the Illinois State men’s basketball team out rebounded its opponent 36-35 as the Redbirds handled Houston Baptist 72-56 in the second game of the Cancun Challenge at Redbird Arena.
Houston Baptist led just once in the game, early in the first half. The Redbirds expanded the first half lead to as much as nine before the Huskies cut the defect to just two before halftime on a near half court shot from Asa Cantwell, making the halftime score 28-26.
ISU began the second half on a 13-5 run to inflate the lead to 41-32 with 15:56 to play. The Redbirds never led by less than five throughout the rest of the game.
Senior guard Devaughn Akoon-Purcell once again led all scorers with 20 on eight makes including four thunderous dunks. Sophomore forward Deontae Hawkins added 13 points and a team high six rebounds. Senior guard Justin McCloud and sophomore forward MiKyle McIntosh added nine points apiece. Freshman Roland Griffin added another balanced effort with six points, and four rebounds.
Illinois State shared the ball well. All 10 Redbirds who played were credited with at least one assist. Senior guard Paris Lee lead the team with 5.
The key to this game proved to be rebounding as the Redbirds capitalized on second chance baskets, outscoring HBU 19-4.
Josh Ibarra paced the Huskies with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Trey Patterson added 10 points.
The Redbirds improve to 2-2 on the season, after Thursdays 83-67 loss to South Dakota State in the first game of the Cancun Challenge.
ISU returns to action Tuesday when they travel to Cancun, Mexico to take on nationally ranked Maryland for the off-campus portion of the Cancun Challenge. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Redbird preview will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Listen to postgame interviews with head coach Dan Muller and senior guard Justin McCloud here.
