Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jim Moldenhauer Redbird guard Osiris Eldridge reacts to Saturday's loss at Indiana State.

The Indiana State Sycamores had no answer for Redbird guard Osiris Eldridge Saturday afternoon in Terre Haute. But that didn't stop them from winning the game.

After trailing by as many as 13 points late in the first half, the Sycamores were able to convert on several second-chance opportunities in the second period and defeated the Redbirds 76-72 before a Hulman Center crowd of 4,570.

Eldridge, who had 22 points in the first 11:43 of the game, finished with a career-high 34 points. He shot 12-for-18 from the field and made 7-of-9 from beyond the 3-point arc.

"When you have a player like him who's really talented and gets it going, it's like dealing with a rattlesnake," Sycamore Coach Kevin McKenna said. "When you get close to him, he drives it by you and when you're off him, he hits a shot."

Indiana State closed out the first half on a 9-1 run to cut the Redbirds' advantage to 40-35 at the break while Eldridge watched from the bench with two fouls.

The Sycamores (12-13, 7-8) took their first lead of the game with 13:18 left in the second half after an Aaron Carter layup. The teams traded the lead six more times before Harry Marshall hit a layup with 1:22 remaining in the game to put Indiana State on top for good.

After Illinois State fell five points behind with 19 seconds remaining, Boo Richardson pulled the 'Birds within two points less than five seconds later on a three-point play.

But the Sycamores, who went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute, never gave Illinois State a chance to tie.

Eleven of the Sycamores' 16 second-chance points came in the second half. Marshall's go-ahead layup came on Indiana State's third shot of their possession.

"If there's a disappointment, it's that we didn't rebound the ball really well down the stretch and they got too many second chances," Redbird Coach Tim Jankovich said. "Our first shot defense wasn't bad."

Gabe Moore, Jay Tunnel and Marshall all finished with 14 points for the Sycamores, while Marico Stinson finished with 12.

Moore also had a game-high seven assists and pulled down four offensive rebounds.

"This was a big game for us. We knew we could beat them, but we also knew it was a big game for them," Moore said. "We just had to match their intensity. That's what we did."

The Redbirds (18-8, 10-5) were without senior guard Dom Johnson, who is the team leader in minutes per game. Johnson didn't make the trip to Terre Haute because of flu-like symptoms.

"Dom is one of our best players. That's no secret," Jankovich said. "We miss him in a lot of different ways, but it's the situation we're in…we're not going to use it as an excuse and see if it'll make us stronger."

Johnson's status for Wednesday's game at Evansville hasn't yet been determined.

Eldridge, who has scored 24 or more points in each of the Redbirds' last three games, took over the MVC scoring lead with his performance on Saturday. But that was little consolation to the sophomore guard.

"We felt this was a game we should win, but we didn't," Eldridge said. "You've got to give props to Indiana State for playing a good game down the stretch and converting on second chances."

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