By ISU Sports Information
HONOLULU – Illinois State held Hawai’i to 25.5 percent shooting from the field and blocked seven shots in a 71-45 victory over the host-Rainbow Warriors (4-6) Thursday night in the Diamond Head Classic opener at the Stan Sheriff Center.
ISU (7-3) advanced to the tournament semifinal to play San Francisco (9-2) Friday at 9 p.m. CT.
PODCAST: Listen to the postgame interviews with ISU coach Dan Muller and sophomore Daouda Ndiaye.
Deontae Hawkins led three Redbirds in double figures with 16 points and six rebounds. Phil Fayne netted 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and Madison Williams scored a career-high 11 points. Daouda “David” Ndiaye made his season debut after missing the beginning of the year with a stress fracture in his right foot. Ndiaye blocked five shots (to match a career high), collected six rebounds and scored four points in 17 minutes.
As a team, Illinois State shot 25-for-51 (49.0 percent) from the field, and the Redbirds outrebounded Hawai’i, 36-27. For the Rainbow Warriors, three players scored 10 points apiece. By holding Hawai’i to 25.5 percent shooting, the Redbirds tied for fifth in program single-game field goal percentage defense.
On Hawai’i’s first possession of the game, after winning the tipoff, MiKyle McIntosh blocked a 3-point attempt by Brocke Stepteau out of bounds, and the Redbirds subsequently forced a shot clock violation. Illinois State went on to build a 10-0 lead while holding Hawai’i without a field goal until a 3-pointer by Sheriff Drammeh at the 16:55 mark which sparked a 7-0 run to pull the Rainbow Warriors within 10-7.
However, Illinois State responded with nine-unanswered to take a 19-7 advantage on a Fayne lay-in. Leland Green broke Hawai’i’s scoring drought with a 3-pointer from the right wing, and the Rainbow Warriors trimmed their deficit to 21-14. Hawai’i closed the gap to 26-21, but the Redbirds answered with five-straight points by Williams to take a 31-21 advantage. After UH cut Illinois State’s lead to 31-25, DJ Clayton made a pair of free throws with 44 second remaining to secure a 33-25 halftime advantage.
The Redbirds shot 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from the field in the first half and held Hawai’i to 7-for-30 (23.3 percent) from the field. Williams led ISU with seven first-half points which matched his previous career high.
ISU outscored Hawai’i 6-3 to start the second half and took a 41-28 lead on a McIntosh jumper. After a Noah Allen layup, Illinois State manufactured a 24-3 run to build a 32-point advantage, 65-33, with 5:33 remaining. The Redbirds held UH without a field goal from 15:10 until 1:54, and the Rainbow Warriors could not get closer than 26 points in the final five minutes.
San Francisco beat Utah Thursday to earn a spot in Friday’s semifinal matchup.
