The Illinois State Redbirds men’s basketball team was unable to overcome a significant second-half deficit, losing 74-60 on the road against Bradley in Peoria on Saturday night. The Redbirds managed to cut an 18-point gap down to just three points late in the game but could not complete the comeback.
Illinois State started strong, scoring six of the first eight points and holding a 7-5 lead early. However, Bradley responded with seven consecutive points and maintained control for most of the first half, eventually leading by as many as 15 before taking a 43-31 advantage into halftime.
Bradley extended its lead to 18 with just under 11 minutes remaining. The Redbirds answered with a 14-point run over four minutes, narrowing the margin to seven. A three-pointer from Jack Daugherty brought Illinois State within three at 60-57 with just over six minutes left, but that was as close as they would get.
The Redbirds used a starting lineup featuring Mason Klabo, Landon Wolf, Johnny Kinziger, Brandon Lieb, and Boden Skunberg for only the third time this season. The team wore throwback red uniforms for the twelfth time during the current campaign and won the opening tip-off. Brandon Lieb scored ISU’s first points with a dunk—marking his third straight game doing so.
Landon Wolf led Illinois State in scoring for the first time this season with 12 points—including two three-pointers—and became the ninth different player to lead the team in scoring this year. This ties ISU for the highest such total in NCAA play this season. Wolf has now reached double-digit points in six of his last seven games and nine times overall since December 29.
Mason Klabo also scored 12 points—five coming from free throws—and set career highs with both his free throw makes and seven rebounds, leading or tying for team-high rebounds for the first time in his career.
Ty Pence contributed 11 points on five-of-eight shooting from the field; it was his twelfth double-digit scoring game of the season and second straight contest achieving that mark.
Johnny Kinziger provided five assists—his seventeenth game this season with at least three assists and third consecutive such performance.
Illinois State will return to action after a four-day break when they travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to face Northern Iowa Panthers at 6 p.m., with coverage available on ESPNU.
Illinois State Redbirds is affiliated with Illinois State University and competes in NCAA Division I events across various regions. The program utilizes resources like news updates, schedules, rosters, fan engagement tools provided online, benefits from initiatives such as the Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund aimed at improving competitiveness and recruitment according to official sources, and uses facilities like OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center for student-athlete preparation as reported by their website. Earlier this season, Illinois State posted one of its best starts with an 8-2 record per official records.
