By ISU Sports Information
ST. LOUIS – The Illinois State men’s basketball team struggled from the field and a late comeback bid fell short as the No. 3-seed Redbirds fell to No. 6-seed Indiana State, 65-57, Friday in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Scottrade Center.
Indiana State (15-16) led for all but 81 seconds of Friday’s game. MiKyle McIntosh led Illinois State with a game-high 17 points, while DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell turned in a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Paris Lee chipped in 11 points.
Illinois State (18-14) was unable to overcome a tough night shooting the ball, however, as the Redbirds shot just 31.3 percent (20-of-64) from the field and 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the foul line.
Illinois State got off to a slow start, missing its first seven shots before a Lee jumper ended the drought just over five minutes into the game. Justin McCloud canned a 3-pointer the next trip down the court to give the Redbirds their only lead of the game, at 5-4.
Indiana State answered with the next four points to start a 13-4 run that included three 3-pointers over a stretch of four offensive possessions. A McIntosh 3-pointer ended the run and cut the Sycamores’ lead to five points at 17-12, but the Redbirds followed with another long drought, going just 1-for-12 from the field to follow.
Illinois State trailed, 24-17, at halftime. The 17 points marked Illinois State’s fewest points in the first half of a game this season, and matched the team’s fewest in the first half of a game at the MVC Tournament. The Redbirds shot just 23.3 percent (7-for-30) from the field in the first half, including just 18.8 percent (3-for-16) from behind the three-point arc.
Indiana State continued to control the game early in the second half, as the Sycamores made their first three field goal attempts – and six of their first seven – to open the second half. Indiana State built its biggest lead of the game at 43-26, going up by 17 points on a layup from Brandon Murphy at the 13:54 mark.
The Sycamores maintained a double-digit lead until DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell got a fast-break layup with just under 10 minutes left in the game, cutting the deficit to eight, at 45-37. Indiana State provided yet another prompt answer, though, as a 10-2 run restored the lead to 16 points, 55-39, with 3:54 to play.
Illinois State made one final push, with McIntosh and Akoon-Purcell sinking two 3-pointers each over the final 3:23. McIntosh’s second trifecta was followed quickly by a backcourt steal by Lee and layup from McCloud, which cut the Indiana State lead to just six. Akoon-Purcell’s 3-pointer the next trip down cut the Sycamores’ lead to five. A pair of free throws from Lee moments later made it a four-point game with 41 seconds left.
The Redbirds could not get any closer, though. Indiana State made 4-of-6 free throws over the final 17 seconds to finish off the win.
Indiana State advances to play Evansville in the MVC Tournament semifinals Saturday at 5 p.m.
