ISU men’s basketball’s poor shooting leads to Bulldog defeat

Image courtesy of Redbird Athletics. 

NORMAL, Ill. — Illinois State men’s basketball suffered an 84-77 loss to the Drake Bulldogs on Wednesday night at CEFCU Arena.  

Heading into the game, the Bulldogs held a Missouri Valley Conference record of 12-2 which placed them at the top of conference.   

“For anybody to beat them, you have to bring your “A-Game”,” Head Coach Ryan Pedon said. “I didn’t feel like that was our “A-Game” tonight.”  

The Redbirds struggled to get the ball in the net as they shot 38% from the three-point line and 65% behind the free throw line.  

“We missed free throws we normally don’t miss…like six, eight, 10 points out there that we didn’t cash in on,” Pedon said.  

Johnny Kinziger the MVC free throw percentage-leader, provided some daylight from the charity strip and gathered 10 points. The sophomore scored 22 points on five-of-seven shooting and a pair of three-pointers.  

Turnovers were an issue for both teams with the Redbirds 13 and Bulldogs 10. However, Drake outweighed ISU 21-15 in points off turnovers.  

Chase Walker led the team in points with 25 and three rebounds shy of a double-double. Ty Pence was the final Redbird to reach double figures in points, with 10 off the bench.  

The Redbirds defense was not enough for the hot handed Bulldogs. Bennett Stirtz matched Walker in points for the game-high on nine-of-16 from the floor. Mitch Mascari and Kael Combs each contributed double digits in points with 18 and 13 respectively.  

“Our strategy was to keep him (Stirtz) the best we could,” Pedon said. “They utilize the ball screen with 14…they wear that out and are efficient with it.”  

Following the loss to the Bulldogs, the Redbirds record sits at 15-11 overall and 7-8 in conference play.  

ISU will look to return to the win column against Indiana State on Feb. 15 at noon in the Hulman Center.