ISU basketball bursts to victory in a Blo-No battle against IWU

Image courtesy of Illinois State Athletics

NORMAL, Ill. – Sunday afternoon was one for the history books in the Bloomington-Normal community. It has been over 50 years since Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan have played against one another in a basketball game. The fifty-year drought ended on Sunday with an emphatic 78-46 ISU victory. 

While this was only considered an exhibition game for both ISU and IWU, the 32 point margin of victory for ISU was the largest in 110 matchups. While not a game that counts for the record books, Sunday showcased our first look at this new look Redbird team. 

Leading the way for the Redbirds were two returning senior guards, Darius Burford and Malachi Poindexter. Burford had a team-high of 19 points, while shooting 9-13 from the field. Meanwhile, Poindexter had 17 points and shot 50% from three point range. 

Poindexter gave a special shoutout to his teammates and fans for helping out with his big performance. 

“I just want to credit all my teammates because I was just open a couple times and they ended up going in,” said Poindexter. “I also want to thank the fans because once you hit one you can feel the electricity going through your body.” 

Not only did we see great performances from ISU veterans, contributions also came from the Redbirds freshman class. The class is made up of three players, Ty Pence, Chase Walker and Johnny Kinzinger. All three played quality minutes where their impact was felt all over the floor. 

“I saw a lot that I liked, I think each impacted the game in different ways,” said ISU head coach Ryan Pedon. “I think there is a lot to be excited about.”

The Redbirds will play one last exhibition game against Lourdes next Monday at CEFCU Arena. ISU will officially open up the regular season Nov. 11 at St. Louis.