McLean County Times

The Illinois State Redbirds were defeated by the Bradley Braves in a closely contested game, ending with a score of 61-57 on Saturday afternoon in Peoria. Despite notable performances from Johnny Kinziger and Ty Pence, who scored 16 and 12 points respectively, the Redbirds could not secure a win.

Kinziger made 4-of-11 shots from the field and was successful in two out of five three-point attempts. Pence achieved a perfect shooting record during the game, hitting all four of his shots including two from beyond the arc. Additional contributions came from Malachi Poindexter with eight points, Landon Wolf with six points, and both Chase Walker and Caden Boser scoring five each.

Walker led his team with seven rebounds while Dalton Banks added five. Kinziger provided five assists, closely followed by Banks with four. Banks also recorded a game-high four steals.

The match was characterized by its defensive nature right from the start. The first half saw six ties and seven lead changes before Bradley took a slight edge at halftime with a score of 28-26. The second half continued to be competitive; however, after an initial tie at 30 points each, Bradley surged ahead with a decisive 10-0 run. ISU managed to level the scores again late in the game thanks to Poindexter's lay-up but could not maintain momentum as Bradley secured victory.

Despite their loss, Illinois State effectively limited Bradley’s long-range shooting abilities. Known for their three-point prowess, Bradley was held to just 22.2 percent accuracy from beyond the arc—an impressive defensive effort by ISU.

For Bradley, Zek Montgomery and Duke Deen each contributed 11 points while Christian Davis added another ten to their tally.

Illinois State will host Belmont next at CEFCU Arena on Wednesday evening.