Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
NORMAL, Ill. -- Indiana State and Illinois State were locked into a hotly contested Missouri Valley Conference contest by a late run gave the Redbirds a 67-54 victory in front of 4,189 fans inside Redbird Arena.
The loss dropped the Sycamores to 11-8, 2-6 MVC while Illinois State improved to 12-7, 4-4 MVC.
Odum led the Sycamores with 15 points and was the lone Sycamore to reach double figures scoring.
Indiana State was limited to 20-of-61 shooting in the game (32.8 percent) , but did hit six 3-pointers. Dwayne Lathan led the Sycamores with eight rebounds.
The Sycamores held a 49-48 lead as the clock ticked under six minutes to go and the Redbirds owned the basketball. ISU got a key defensive stop and Dwayne Lathan had the ball. He drove all the way to the basket, Walker grabbed an offensive rebound and missed but Mahurin was right there in place of an injured Carl Richard (who would later return) to give Indiana State a 51-48 advantage with 5:01 to play.
Illinois State retook the lead on a short 5-0 run, including a 3-pointer by Tyler Brown with 3:31 left as the Redbirds held a 53-51 advantage. That short run advanced to a 11-0 spurt as the Redbirds stretched their lead out to 59-51 as the clocked ticked under two minutes to go.
Indiana State scored the first bucket of the game at the 18:27 mark to stake the Sycamores to a quick 2-0 advantage. Illinois State would go on to lead by as many as five points in twice in the first five minutes of the game before a 3-pointer by Jordan Printy trimmed the Redbird cushion down to just 11-10 with 14:02 on the clock and a triple by Richard at the 12:25 mark was sandwhiched around a Myles Walker lay-up as ISU raced ahead 15-14.
Jake Kitchell hit a hook shot in the paint with 10:59 left in the first half as the ISU run hit 7-0 and the Sycamores found themselves in front of the Redbirds 17-14. The Bird's answered with three consecutive points on two trips to tie the game at 17 before Mahurin hit a trey with 9:15 to go as ISU roared ahead 20-17. The lead was shortlived as Tyler Brown answered with a triple to knot the score at 20 but John Wilkins converted a breakaway dunk with 8:40 to go as Illinois State took a 22-20 advantage.
Odum tied it all up again with 7:20 left as he hit a jumper in the paint to make it 22-22. Richard once again gave the Sycamores a lead as he hit a 3-pointer with 6:20 on the clock as ISU owned a 25-22 advantage. After Illinois State scored on their end to answer the Richard triple, Odum got a steal and a conventional 3-point play with 5:30 to go as ISU took a 28-24 lead.
A 7-0 run by Illinois State was stopped by a dunk by Walker as the clock ticked towards one minute remaining to cut into the Redbird lead and make it 31-30. The Redbirds added a Jackie Carmichael basket as Illinois State went into the half with a 33-30 lead.
Odum led the Sycamores with 10 points at the half as the team hit 11-of-28 shots (39.3 percent). Illinois State hit 13-of-23 shots from the field (56.5 percent).
Jordan Printy inched the Sycamores back into the game at the 11:40 mark with his second 3-pointer of the game to cut the Illinois State lead down to 42-40. Illinois State had led by as many as seven points in the second half with a 40-33 lead just minutes in. ISU came up empty on three straight possessions while the Redbirds scored once until Odum hit a jumper at the 9:49 mark to cut the Illinois State lead down to 44-42.
Dwayne Lathan took advantage of a Redbird turnover with 7:12 on the clock to tie the game at 46. Lathan's bucket knotted the score for the fifth time in the game. Lathan drove into the lane on the Sycamore's next possession and hit 1-of-2 free throws as ISU took a 47-46 advantage. Lathan hit a circus lay-up following a defensive rebound and after the Redbirds briefly took a lead as ISU regained control 49-48 with 5:30 to go.
Tyler Brown led the Redbirds with 22 points and was one of three scorers to reach double figures scoring.
Indiana State stays on the road by travelling to No. 18 nationally-ranked Creighton on Saturday, January 21. Tip-off is set for 3:05 p.m. (ET) and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
