McLean County Times

Despite a strong effort, the Illinois State University (ISU) men's basketball team was defeated by the Drake Bulldogs in a closely contested game on Wednesday evening at the Knapp Center. The final score of the Missouri Valley Conference contest was 66-62 in favor of Drake.

Chase Walker led ISU with 20 points, hitting 8-of-12 shots from the field and converting 4-of-5 free throws. Dalton Banks contributed 13 points off the bench, while Landon Wolf added 12 points and Johnny Kinziger scored 11. Walker also secured a team-high four rebounds during the game.

Assists were distributed among four players: Malachi Poindexter, Wolf, Ty Pence, and Banks each recorded two assists. Wolf and Kinziger both registered two steals for their team.

The Redbirds will return to their home court on Saturday afternoon for a matchup against the Missouri State Bears at CEFCU Arena, with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m.

Drake started strong by scoring the first five points of the game and maintained their lead throughout. An early run extended their advantage to as much as 14 points before ISU responded with several scoring runs of their own, closing the gap to four by halftime with a score of 34-30.

In the second half, ISU managed to narrow Drake's lead to just two points on multiple occasions. With only 50 seconds remaining, Walker scored his final basket; however, Drake capitalized on their free throw opportunities to secure victory despite Banks' buzzer-beating jumper that set the final scoreline.

ISU managed to limit turnovers effectively, recording only six alongside ten assists. They shot an even fifty percent from the field but struggled beyond the arc with a 28.6% conversion rate on three-point attempts.

Drake relied heavily on Daniel Abreu and Bennett Stirtz for scoring output; Abreu notched a game-high of 23 points while Stirtz added another 20 along with eight assists.