McLean County Times

The Illinois State Redbirds secured a decisive 81-60 victory over Northern Illinois on Wednesday evening. The game saw four Redbirds players scoring in double figures, contributing to the team's strong performance.

Dalton Banks led the Redbirds with 17 points, hitting 8 of his 10 shots from the field and tying his career-high with eight rebounds. Chase Walker added 15 points along with six rebounds and an assist. Johnny Kinziger and Jack Daugherty each contributed 12 points, with Kinziger also providing a game-high six assists.

The Redbirds displayed a significant rebounding advantage, out-rebounding Northern Illinois 46-26. This marked their largest margin against a Division I opponent since November 2014 when they faced Youngstown State.

ISU will conclude its non-conference schedule on December 22 in Ithaca, New York, against Cornell University.

Throughout the game, ISU maintained control after taking an early lead following NIU's initial score. They extended their first-half lead to as much as twelve points before heading into halftime with an eight-point advantage at 36-28.

In the second half, ISU outscored NIU by a substantial margin of 31-11 within the first thirteen minutes, widening their lead to as much as thirty points before concluding the game with a comfortable twenty-one-point victory.

This was ISU's fifth instance this season achieving shooting splits of .500/.400/.750, making them one of only two teams in the country to do so this many times. The team shot an impressive fifty percent from the field and over forty-one percent from three-point range.

Quentin Jones stood out for Northern Illinois with a game-high of twenty-seven points while Kailon Nicholls added twelve points for his team.