By ISU Sports Information
NORMAL, Ill. – Five players scored in double figures for South Dakota State and Illinois State shot 37 percent from the field en route to an 83-67 defeat Thursday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
SDSU took a 51-32 lead into the half thanks in part to 50 percent shooting from the field, a 25-17 rebounding advantage and 18 points in the paint. Early in the second half, an 11-0 run that featured three-straight threes from Deondre Parks and George Marshall pushed SDSU’s lead to 27.
The Redbirds shot a season-high 24 three-pointers and connected on six of them. ISU shot 26 threes in the first two games of the season combined. South Dakota State was equally reliant on the three-ball, but converted nine of 23 attempts for 73 percent.
The Jackrabbits opened the game shooting 6-8 and led ISU 13-6 at the first media timeout. Eight of the Jacks’ first 13 points came in the paint. SDSU’s hot start continued after the timeout, but Paris Lee put a halt to an 11-2 run with a three from the top of the key and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell’s running layup kept the Redbirds in striking distance.
Akoon-Purcell netted a three-pointer to pull ISU within four at 22-18, but the Jacks responded with a 12-2 run that was keyed by a pair of field goals from Parks. From there, South Dakota State never led by less than nine.
Twice in the first half the Redbirds put together mini 5-0 runs, but each time Reed Tellinghausen buried a three to kill the ISU momentum. Lee reached a season-high for points by the 5:30 mark in the first half and went to the locker room with 14, however he did not score in the second half.
Akoon-Purcell led the Redbirds with 15 points on 5-15 shooting, and McKyle McIntosh also reached double figures with 12 points on 3-6 shooting.Deontae Hawkins endured a 1-11 shooting night, but recorded a team-high seven rebounds.
The Redbirds were outrebounded for the third-straight game and SDSU capitalized off of second chance points (12) and points off turnovers (17). The Jackrabbits led for all but 1:01 and advanced to 3-0 on the season.
The loss drops Illinois State to 1-2 and the Redbirds will be back in action Saturday at home versus Houston Baptist. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Find postgame interviews with head coach Dan Muller and junior guard Paris Lee here.
