The Illinois State Redbirds got a driving lay-up for a three-point play by Colton Sandage as the Redbirds closed a 13-2 run to lead by one; however, the comeback fell just short in a 70-67 loss to Northwestern State on Thursday night inside CEFCU Arena – Home of the Redbirds
Darius Burford scored a team-high 20 points, making 7-of-13 shots from the field and 2-of-4 from long range, while also dishing out a game-high five assists. Kendall Lewis scored 14 points with a team-high seven rebounds while Colton Sandage scored a season-high 12 points, including going 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Two others – Liam McChesney and Luke Kasubke – each scored eight points.
Illinois State (2-2) jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead early in the contest on a Seneca Knight three-point basket with 16:26 to play in the first half; however, Northwestern State (3-2) rallied by scoring eight consecutive points to take a lead it would hold onto for the remainder of the half. The Demon lead grew to as many as 14 – ISU's largest deficit of the young season – before ISU chipped the margin down to eight heading into the locker room at halftime.
Trailing by 10 with 9:28 to play in the game the Redbirds got five quick points on a Kasubke three-pointer and a Burford jumper and followed with an 8-0 run that included a Sandage three-pointer, a Burford lay-up, and the Sandage three-point play to push ISU back ahead 60-59. Trailing by three with 1:38 to play, Lewis drained a three-pointer to knot the score at 67 before Demarcus Sharp made two free throws – two of his game-high 23 points – and Isaac Haney one to put the visitors ahead by three. ISU got two looks late at a game-tying three, and both narrowly missed, giving Northwestern State the three-point win.
The teams shot identical marks (24-of-53, 45.3%) from the field in the game, as Northwestern State went 7-of-13 from long range and 15-of-18 from the charity stripe. The Redbirds converted on 9-of-25 three-point shots, and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Illinois State out-rebounded Northwestern State 34-to-26, the third time in the first four games of the season that the 'Birds have out-rebounded their opponent.
Sharp's 23 led the Demons, while Haney scored 14 and Dayne Prim 11. Haney pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, as Sharp and Haney each dished out three assists.
ISU returns to action on Monday, November 21 when the 'Birds take on the LSU Tigers in the opening game of the 2022 Cayman Islands Classic in George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
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