Illinois State outlasted Rutgers 76-70 in what turned out to be a glorified free-throw shooting contest in the Triple Crown Cancun Challenge in Mexico.

Tyler Brown scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half as Illinois State (3-1) shot a blistering 71.4 percent from the field against a Rutgers (3-2) team that blew perimeter assignments time and time again.

It was remarkable the Redbirds were able to find any sort of groove on offense considering the choppy play, which featured 30 team fouls after intermission. Illinois State made 28 free throws compared with just eight for the Scarlet Knights, who entered with the lowest amount of made free throws in the Big East.

Rutgers made up for the deficiency by outscoring Illinois State 36-6 in the paint, but not even a balanced offense featuring four players in double figures, led by 12 points apiece from Eli Carter and Austin Johnson, could offset the Redbirds’ hot shooting.

John Wilkins made three of Illinois State’s 10 3-pointers, which helped it go up by as many as 13 with 12 minutes remaining.

Rutgers’ young backcourt helped create easy buckets down low, and the Scarlet Knights even gained a one-point lead with more than two minutes to go, but couldn’t answer Illinois State at the line down the stretch.