Redbirds Fall in Close Game at Purdue

Image courtesy of Illinois State athletics

NORMAL, Ill. —

Illinois State men’s basketball fell to Purdue 76-59 at Mackey Arena on Monday night, as the Redbirds remained within striking distance for much of the game before a late Boilermakers run sealed the victory.

The Redbirds trailed by eight at halftime and cut Purdue’s lead to just two with 8:55 remaining after Noah Cleveland made two free throws.

However, following a travel by Louie Semona on a 2-on-1 fast break for Illinois State, Purdue went on a 15-0 run and did not look back.

Chase Walker did not start for the second consecutive game and fouled out after playing just 10 minutes, finishing with two points.

Illinois State’s leading scorers included Johnny Kinziger and Noah Cleveland, who each scored 12 points, while Malik Messina-Moore added 11. Kinziger played all 40 minutes in the loss.

Head coach Ryan Pedon was disappointed with the result but saw positive signs from his team.

“We just got out of character a bit in the last eight minutes,” Pedon said. “Disappointing for sure, the way it ended, but this is a process and this is a very difficult place to play, so we’ve got to continue to learn and build.”

Illinois State had been lights out from behind the 3-point line to begin the season but shot just 5-for-25 against Purdue despite getting several good looks.

The Redbirds did all they could to contain Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center Daniel Jacobsen, who led all scorers with 20 points and added seven rebounds.

Illinois State drops to 1-2 on the season but showed positive signs against a strong Big Ten opponent, cutting the deficit to two with less than nine minutes remaining.

The Redbirds will now shift their attention to Friday night when they travel to Fargo, North Dakota, to take on North Dakota State.

For all things Redbird basketball, stay tuned to WZND.com.