ISU at
The MVC Tournament
February 28th
time & opponent TBA
Will be shown on WMBD 31


ISU won the game 83-73,but lost starter Skipp Schaefbauer for the season a little over midway through the first half.On a missed SIU shot Skipp went up for the rebound with the Salukie's Rashad Tucker but came down to the floor with a broken femur.The senior's career ended on the play with a compound fracture to his right leg which required surgery to insert a pin into the bone to hold it in place.

ISU started the scoring when Rico Hill stole the ball at half court and took it in for a monster jam and the Birds never looked back.The Redbirds took a 10 point lead in the first half and were never really threatened.The most threatening part of the game came at the 6:19 mark of the first half when Skipp broke his leg.Dr. Dustman came out of the stands to assist in his care and after a long wait for a stretcher he was hauled off the floor.During that time the assistant coaches attempted to regroup the rest of the team.Their intensity level didn't drop off at all which was good considering the circumstances and they finished off the half with a 44-35 advantage.SIU never mounted a serious comeback in the second half as the Birds coasted to a 83-73 win

Rico Hill led four Redbirds in double figures with 20 points.Leroy Watkins added 19 points,while Dan Muller had 14 and Steve Hansell added 10.Dan Muller led the Birds with 7 rebounds while adding 6 assists,1 blocked shot and 1 steal.Jamar Smiley handed out 11 assists and grabbed 6 rebounds.Rico Hill had 4 rebounds and 5 assists to go along with his 20 points.Steve Hansell also grabbed 5 rebounds with 4 assists.ISU shot an MVC tournament record 66 % for the game.

SOUTHERN ILL (73)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Thunell         36  7-10   2-2   4-7  5  2   20
Tucker          37  6-22 10-11  8-12  4  2   22
Tilmon          27   5-9   0-2   1-3  0  2   10
Jenkins         34  4-11   1-1   2-3  3  5   10
Hawkins         35   2-9   0-0   0-5  2  1    5
Cross            8   0-1   0-0   1-1  0  1    0
Brown            6   0-2   0-0   0-0  1  0    0
Watts           13   2-5   0-0   1-1  0  2    4
Jackson          3   1-1   0-0   1-1  0  1    2
C Wright         1   0-1   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 27-71 13-16 18-33 15 16   73
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Percentages: FG-.380, FT-.813. 3-Point Goals: 6-21, .286 (Thunell 4-6, Tucker 0-2, Jenkins 1-3, Hawkins 1-7, Brown 0-2, C Wright 0-1). Team rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 1 (Thunell). Turnovers: 13 (Tucker 6, Hawkins 4, Thunell 2, Cross). Steals: 9 (Tucker 5, Jenkins 2, Hawkins, Tilmon).

ILLINOIS ST (83) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Muller 36 5-7 0-0 0-7 6 3 14 Hill 27 9-12 2-3 0-4 5 4 20 Watkins 26 9-12 1-6 0-3 0 3 19 Smiley 33 0-2 1-4 1-6 11 0 1 Hansell 25 5-7 0-0 2-5 4 3 10 Schaefbauer 5 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 3 Holmstrom 1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Stotler 1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 Pierson 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Cartmill 24 4-8 0-0 0-0 3 2 9 Crowley 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Hein 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 vanVelzen 1 0-1 1-2 0-1 0 0 1 Gibbons 16 2-2 2-2 0-1 0 0 6 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 35-53 7-18 3-28 31 15 83 _______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.660, FT-.389. 3-Point Goals: 6-14, .429 (Muller 4-6, Hill 0-2, Smiley 0-1, Schaefbauer 1-2, Cartmill 1-3). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 3 (Watkins 2, Muller). Turnovers: 15 (Smiley 6, Muller 4, Hill 2, Hansell, Stotler, Watkins). Steals: 6 (Gibbons 2, Hansell, Hill, Muller, Smiley). __________________________________ Southern Ill 35 38 - 73 Illinois St 44 39 - 83 __________________________________ Technical fouls: None. Officials: Nick Petro, Ron Berkholtz, J.D. Collins.