National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Illinois St. 69, DePaul 64
When: 4:35 PM ET, Sunday, December 22, 2013
Where: Redbird Arena, Normal, Illinois
Officials: # Brent Hampton, # Mike Stuart, # Mark Whitehead
Attendance: 5345

Illinois State 69, DePaul 64: Daishon Knight, Zach Lofton and Nick Zeisloft combined for 41 points despite a hideous collective shooting effort as the Redbirds knocked off the visiting Blue Demons.

Knight scored 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting while Lofton added 14 off the bench but shot 3-of-15. Zeisloft made only 2-of-10 attempts from the field, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range, but finished with 11 points for the Redbirds (7-5), who have won six of seven following a 1-4 start to the season.

Billy Garrett Jr. scored 18 points and backcourt mate Brandon Young chipped in 17 for DePaul (7-5), which turned it over 16 times. Durrell McDonald notched 10 points in a reserve role for the Blue Demons, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Following a tight first half in which Zeisloft's late 3-pointer gave Illinois State a 37-34 lead at intermission, DePaul opened the second half on a 13-3 run. Garrett made three jumpers during the surge, while Young had a three-point play to help turn the momentum in the Blue Demons' favor.

The Redbirds battled back and eventually took a 56-55 lead on Knight's 3-pointer with 8:13 to play before opening up a 66-58 lead with just over three minutes left. The Blue Demons crawled back within two in the final minute, but Garrett's turnover ruined one possession before Young missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Young led DePaul with 10 points and four assists at halftime while Zeisloft had nine points to pace Illinois State at the break. ... The Redbirds shot just 31.3 percent as a team, including 5-of-26 from long range, but made up for it by connecting on 24-of-30 free throws and turning it over just six times. ... This was the first meeting between the teams since 1996.
Top Game Performances
 
DePaul   Illinois St.
Billy Garrett Jr. 18 Scoring Daishon Knight 16
Billy Garrett Jr. 4 Assists Zach Lofton 5
Sandi Marcius 11 Rebounds Daishon Knight 6
Billy Garrett Jr. 6 Free Throws Made Zach Lofton 7
DeJuan Marrero 1 Steals John Jones 3
Tommy Hamilton Jr. 3 Blocks John Jones 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
DePaul 64 41.4 6-17 10-14 13 40 7 3 16
Illinois St. 69 31.2 5-26 24-30 10 30 6 9 6