Slow start costs Redbirds against San Diego State
Written by sssuess on December 17, 2018
NORMAL – The ISU Redbirds Men’s Basketball team (6-3) fell to the San Diego State Aztecs Saturday afternoon by a score of 75-65.
The Redbirds led for parts of the first 3 minutes, but never once reclaimed the lead from that point out. The Redbirds were able to shorten the deficit to three midway through the second half, before the Aztecs pulled away extending their lead to 14 late in the game.
ISU struggled offensively at times, going just 5 of 24 from beyond the arc. Overall, the Redbirds shot 31% from the field: 14% less than San Diego State.
Head Coach Dan Muller expressed his disappointment in the team’s lack of execution on both sides of the ball.
“Not a lot of good things happened other than getting to the foul line and making our free throws.”
24 of the Redbirds 65 points came from free throws. San Diego State got to the line consistently but struggled to make their free throws, getting most of their points from mid-range shots and driving to the basket.
“If you had to pick one component of the game that let us down the most, it was the rebounding,” said Muller. “They had a lot of long possessions and they would get rebounds.”
Both teams got into foul trouble late, as Jordan Schakel of SDSU and Phil Fayne of ISU fouled out on consecutive plays with 4 minutes left in the game.
Malik Yarbrough finished the game with a double-double (16 points and 13 rebounds) in 33 minutes of action, after going a mere 2-8 from the field with 4 turnovers in the first half.
The Redbirds will travel to Chicago on Wednesday, where they hope to bounce back against the UIC Flames.
