By ISU Sports Information

NORMAL, Ill. – Milik Yarbrough and Phil Fayne each had double-doubles, while Keyshawn Evans scored 23 points with six assists as the Illinois State Redbirds fought off a feisty Drake squad on Wednesday night, winning in overtime 89-81.
How It Happened

The teams battled back and forth over the first nine minutes of the game. The Redbirds pushed ahead to a four-point, 17-13 lead following an Evans three-pointer; however, Drake battled back and ran off a 14-0 run to take a 10-point lead of their own at 27-17 with 7:42 to play in the period. Illinois State battled back, chipping away at the deficit, eventually closing to within as few as two, when Yarbrough threw in a dunk with 1:10 to play in the opening half. That would be the last bucket of the half, as the Bulldogs took a two-point, 31-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.

A Daouda N’Diaye dunk out of the gate in the second half tied the score at 31, and ISU took its first lead since halfway through the opening period when Yarbrough drained a jumper two minutes into the period. The second half was a back-and-forth affair, and the largest lead gained by the Redbirds was six after Isaac Gassman drained a three-pointer with 10:22 to play in regulation. Drake fought back and eventually took a four-point lead of its own after a Graham Woodward jumper with 4:40 to play. ISU rallied with four straight points on a tip-in from Fayne and two free throws from Evans, to tie the score at 65. Drake’s Reed Timmer and Yarbrough traded baskets over the last two and a half minutes, with Timmer putting the Bulldogs ahead and Yarbrough following by knotting the score. Yarbrough’s last basket came with 19 seconds to play, and Timmer’s missed three-point attempt at the regulation buzzer sent the game into an extra five minutes.

Drake struck first with two free throws out of the gate in overtime; however, Illinois State ran off the next eight points including back-to-back three-pointers from Evans and William Tinsley. ISU’s overtime lead grew to as many as eight after a Fayne free throw to finish out a three-point play. The Bulldogs could only get to within four the rest of the way, as the Redbirds iced the game by making seven of eight free throws down the stretch to secure the eight-point victory.

Key Moment

Yarbrough’s lay-in with 19 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 69 for the Redbirds, and helped send Illinois State and Drake into the extra period.

Inside the Box Score

• Yarbrough, three days after earning his fifth MVC Newcomer of the Week honor, scored 22 points with 10 rebounds, and five assists. His totals have pushed him into the top-five in the Missouri Valley Conference in all three statistical categories. The double-double was also his sixth double-double of the season.
• With his basket with 19 seconds remaining in regulation, he eclipsed 1,000 career points between his time at Illinois State and at Saint Louis. He currently stands at 1,005 career points over his three collegiate seasons.
• Evans scored a team-high 23 points, making 5-of-11 from long range, and all four of his free throw tries. He also dished out a game-high six assists in 39 minutes of action.
• With his five three-point field goals (giving him 79 on the season), he moved into a tie for ninth on the school single-season three-point makes list, tying with Tyler Brown (2011-12).
• Fayne, in his first game back after missing the previous three games with injury, scored 16 points with a game-high 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
• Tinsley narrowly recorded his first collegiate double-double as he pulled down 10 rebounds with nine points and a career-high four blocked shots.
• The overtime game was Illinois State’s fifth this season, and the Redbirds are 4-1 in games that go an extra period.
• The game was the fourth time this season in which the Redbirds trailed by double-digits before coming back for the win, including in the team’s last home game, a 79-75 win over UNI.

Stat of the Game

3: The win was Illinois State’s third this season when trailing at halftime, with the other two occurrences coming on Dec. 31 against Indiana State, and Feb. 17 against UNI.

What’s Next

Illinois State takes to the road on Saturday, Feb. 24, when the team travels to Chicago to take on the Loyola Ramblers, who earlier this evening clinched sole possession of the MVC regular season title with a win over Southern Illinois.