By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – Two free throws by UCF guard B.J. Taylor with one second remaining gave the Knights a come-from-behind, 63-62, victory over the Illinois State men’s basketball team in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Monday night in front of 7,984 fans on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
With the loss, Illinois State (28-7) concluded an historic season which saw the Redbirds win a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title and set program records for overall victories (28), regular-season wins (25) and conference wins (17).
PODCAST: Listen here to the WJBC post-game interview with Redbird coach Dan Muller.
PODCAST: Listen here to the post-game interview with Redbird senior Paris Lee.
Senior forward Deonte Hawkins became the 43rd member of Illinois State’s 1,000-point club Monday night, as Hawkins netted 15 points to push him over 1,000 and finish with 1,007. Fellow senior Tony Wills also reached double figures with 11 points, thanks to a 3-for-4 effort from three-point range, and Paris Lee wrapped up his illustrious career with nine points and three assists. Lee finished with 1,268 points to rank No. 21 on the career-scoring list. In the Illinois State record book, Lee also ranks first on the career-steals list, with 247, and fourth on the career-assists list, with 495.
UCF was led by Taylor’s 22 points, including an 11-for-11 effort at the free throw line. The Knights (23-11) advanced to the NIT quarterfinals where they will face the winner of Monday night’s Boise State at Illinois game. In Monday night’s loss, ISU shot 22-for-60 (36.7 percent) from the field compared to UCF’s 21-for-53 (39.6 percent) effort. The Knights outrebounded the Redbirds, 38-31.
Illinois State jumped out to a 14-1 lead, holding UCF without a field goal until the 14:05 mark in the first half. After the Redbirds extended their advantage to 17-3 on a Lee 3-pointer, the Knights responded with a 9-0 run to pull within 17-12 on a pair of Taylor free throws with 9:51 remaining in the first half.
However, Hawkins scored three straight jumpers – the last of which pushed Hawkins into the 1,000-point club at the 8:02 mark – and the Redbirds took a 26-12 lead on a Keyshawn Evans 3-pointer with 7:36 remaining. ISU extended its advantage to a game-high 18 points, 33-15, before the Knights manufactured an 8-0 run to make the score 33-23. Wills stopped the Redbird scoring drought by burying a 3-pointer with 31 seconds remaining to solidify a 36-23 halftime advantage.
The Knights started the second half with an 8-2 run to trim their deficit to 38-31 at the 17:21 mark. UCF then pulled within three points, 45-42, before the Redbirds netted seven unanswered points to lead, 52-42, on a one-handed jam by DJ Clayton. However, a 9-0 run by the Knights trimmed the Redbird advantage to 52-51 at the 8:24 mark. Illinois State went ahead, 58-53, following a 6-2 run. But, UCF later took its first lead of the game, 61-60, on a three-point play by A.J. Davis at the 1:40 mark.
The lead held until McIntosh was fouled with 4.3 seconds left on the clock. He proceeded to hit both free throws to put the Redbirds up by one at 62-61. Following a UCF time out, Taylor rushed up the court and appeared to be trapped along the sideline before a foul was called which sent him to the line to shoot a pair of free throws with one second remaining. He made both, and Lee’s last-second heave was off the mark, as the Knights wrestled the 63-62 victory away from the Redbirds.
Illinois State – which had already secured the team’s first-ever undefeated regular season at Redbird Arena and the program’s first undefeated home regular season since 1983-84 – finished the 2016-17 campaign with a 16-1 mark at home. The Redbirds saw their 22-game home-court winning streak, which tied for second-longest in program history, come to an end Monday night.
