Illinois State holds on for 75-71 win over Evansville

Feb 3, 2018, 11:33 pm

NORMAL, Ill. -- Milik Yarbrough, Phil Fayne and Matt Hein scored 13 points apiece and Illinois State held on to beat Evansville 75-71 on Saturday.

The Redbirds (13-11, 7-5 Missouri Valley Conference) led by one at the break but Evansville went ahead 43-41 on a Ryan Taylor 3 early in the second half. Illinois State answered with an 11-2 run capped by a Fayne dunk to reclaim the lead, 52-45, with 10:38 to play. The Purple Aces (15-10, 5-7) cut it to 59-56 with 6:11 left but a Madison Williams 3-pointer and a 3-point play by Fayne in the final three minutes helped keep the Redbirds on top.

Fayne led Illinois State with 10 rebounds and Yarbrough had seven rebounds and five assists.

Taylor carried the Purple Aces, scoring 32 points with six rebounds. Dainius Chatkevicius led with 14 rebounds in addition to his eight points. The Evansville loss snaps a three-game win streak.