McLean County Times

The Illinois State men's basketball team secured a victory against the Missouri State Bears with a final score of 74-68. The game took place on Saturday evening at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Illinois.

Johnny Kinziger led the Redbirds with 19 points, all scored in the second half, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the field during that period. Landon Wolf achieved his first collegiate double-double, contributing 17 points and securing a career-high of 11 rebounds. Chase Walker and Dalton Banks also added to the team's success by scoring in double figures with 14 and 13 points respectively.

Wolf's performance included a game-high of 11 rebounds, while Banks contributed six boards and five assists, which was also a game-high. Both Banks and Wolf tied for the game high with two steals each.

The Redbirds will remain at home for their next matchup against Indiana State Sycamores on Tuesday, January 21 at CEFCU Arena.

During the first half of the game, Illinois State struggled as Missouri State's Dez White hit three consecutive three-pointers, leading to a significant advantage for Missouri State at 22-9. However, Illinois State narrowed the gap to six points by halftime with a score of 31-25.

In the second half, ISU initiated an impressive comeback starting with an early five-point run followed by an additional eleven consecutive points. This stretch included key three-pointers from Banks and Kinziger that shifted the lead in favor of ISU. Despite attempts by Missouri State to close the gap, they could not overcome ISU's lead.

ISU made 46.2% of their shots from the field and converted on ten out of twenty-seven attempts from long range while making sixteen out of twenty-one free throws. In comparison, Missouri State had a slightly higher field goal percentage but fell short in overall execution.

Dez White stood out for Missouri State with a game-high of 24 points including seven successful three-pointers. Vincent Brady II added thirteen points along with four assists for his team.

Illinois State used its seventh different starting lineup this season featuring Malachi Poindexter, Dalton Banks, Landon Wolf, Johnny Kinziger, and Chase Walker.