By Austin Duncan
CARBONDALE, Ill- The Illinois State Redbirds had career-highs in points from two of its players but that was not enough, dropping its second straight Missouri Valley Conference game 81-71 at Southern Illinois.
The Redbirds began the game on a 12-4 run before Southern Illinois would battle back to tie the game at 14 with 13:09 to play in the first half.
The Salukis took its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Leo Vincent.
It was short lived as the Redbirds road the hot streak from Mikyle McIntosh who tied the game on the next possession.
McIntosh, who scored his career-high 20 points in the Redbirds loss to Indiana State, beat his career-high at the 6:19 mark of the first half, cashing in three free throws to give him 22 points.
The Redbirds would expand its lead to as many as 10, after McIntosh’s three free throws but Southern Illinois stormed back once again to cut the ISU lead to 33-30 at the 4:22 mark.
The Salukis got as close as two points on a 3-pointer by Tyler Smithpeters with just over a minute remaining n the half.
Illinois State’s Devaughn Akoon-Purcell forced a Saluki turnover with 28 seconds to play, allowing the Redbirds to hold for one shot before halftime.
The Redbirds dribbled the clock down until there were just seconds remaining when Paris Lee found Tony Wills, who sunk a 3-pointer as time expired to give Illinois State a 42-36 halftime lead.
Southern Illinois collected the first points of the second half before Paris Lee rattled off five straight to expand ISU’s lead to nine.
A 3-pointer by Leo Vincent cut Illinois State’s lead to just four before Lee hit another three to expand the Redbird lead to 50-43 with 16:39 to play.
Illinois State would expand its lead to 12 before Southern Illinois charged back once again using an 11-2 run to trail by just three with 12:25 remaining.
The Redbirds expanded its lead to seven once again before Normal Community High School product Anthony Beane Jr. hit a 3-pointer with 5:51 to play to make the score 68-66 in favor of the Redbirds.
A pair of free throws and a 3-pointer from SIU’s Mike Rodriguez gave the Salukis its first lead of the second half with 2:21 to play.
ISU’s Deontae Hawkins nailed a 3-pointer with 55 seconds to play to tie the game at 78.
The Salukis relied on its hot hand as Leo Vincent answered Hawkins’ 3-pointer with one of his own.
Illinois State had one final possession where Paris Lee got open for a 3-point attempt and missed as time expired.
The Redbirds were paced by a pair of players with career-highs in points including 25 from MiKyle McIntosh and 15 from Tony Wills. Paris Lee, Deontae Hawkins, and Devaughn Akoon-Purcell all collected 11 points.
Hawkins also collected a game-high nine rebounds. Three Redbirds collected four assists including Lee, Hawkins, and Akoon-Purcell.
Southern Illinois was lead by Leo Vincent, who scored 24 points including making six-of-seven 3-pointers. Sean O’Brien added 13 points while Anthony Beane and Mike Rodriguez collected 12 each. Tyler Smithpeters did not miss a 3-pointer, scoring 11 points. O’Brien also collected team-highs in rebounds and assists with eight and six respectively.
The Redbirds drop to 9-9 on the season and a 3-2 mark in the MVC. Southern Illinois improves to 15-3 on the season, holding a 4-1 MVC record.
Illinois State returns to action Friday when Evansville (4-1 MVC) travels to Redbird Arena for an 8 p.m. tip. Redbird Preview will begin at 7 p.m. following Sports Talk.
Postgame comments from Dan Muller can be heard here.
