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McLean County Times

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Illinois State triumphs over Pacific after overcoming early deficit

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Horton Pool | Illinois State University Athletics

Horton Pool | Illinois State University Athletics

The Illinois State men's basketball team overcame a challenging start to secure a victory against Pacific in a non-conference game on Saturday evening. The Redbirds initially struggled, making only one of their first ten shots and trailing by 13 points with just over ten minutes left in the first half. However, they managed to close the gap with a 26-9 run, leading to a 72-61 win.

Sophomore forward Chase Walker played a pivotal role, achieving a career-high of 22 points and 11 rebounds. Jack Daugherty contributed 15 points, while Johnny Kinziger added 14. Caden Boser narrowly missed double figures with nine points. Walker's performance helped the Redbirds match Pacific's total of 33 rebounds.

Kinziger and Dalton Banks each provided four assists, contributing to the team's positive assist-to-turnover ratio of 13-to-8. This marks the fourth time this season that Illinois State has recorded ten or fewer turnovers in a game. Landon Wolf also set a personal best with two steals.

After taking an early lead, Pacific was unable to maintain their advantage as Illinois State found their rhythm late in the first half. The Redbirds' offense improved significantly, making nine out of fifteen shots from the field and six out of nine from long range during this period.

In the second half, Illinois State extended their lead to as many as 17 points following a three-pointer by Daugherty. Despite Pacific narrowing the deficit to seven points with under two minutes remaining, Illinois State secured their victory by converting all four free throw attempts in the final minute.

Overall, Illinois State shot 44.2% from the field and made 40% of their three-point attempts while converting on an impressive 84.2% of free throws. Pacific finished with a shooting percentage of 38.6%, including just eight successful three-pointers out of twenty-five attempts.

Pacific's Jazz Gardner led his team with fifteen points, followed closely by Lamar Washington with fourteen points. Elijah Fisher and Elias Ralph scored twelve and ten points respectively but fell short of their season averages.

Illinois State will take a break for final exams before returning to action on December 15 against Saint Louis Billikens at CEFCU Arena.

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