Illinois State men's basketball secures first win at North Dakota State

FARGO, N.D. — Illinois State outscored North Dakota State 11-2 in the final two minutes to emerge with a 77-68 nonconference basketball victory Thursday at Scheels Arena.

The Redbirds evened their record at 1-1, while the Bison fell to 1-1.

"What a great team win. I'm really pleased with the way all the guys who came into the game contributed," ISU coach Ryan Pedon said. "The team we were playing were a bunch of old heads. They had fifth-year guys across the board. I'm really proud of the team."

The Redbirds snapped a 66-all tie with a Ty Pence three-point play at the 1:52 mark.

Chase Walker followed with a layup. Johnny Kinziger and Pence each canned two free throws in the final 43 seconds.

Kinziger topped the Redbirds with 20 points. Pence produced 17 points and seven rebounds. Walker added eight points and 10 rebounds. All three are sophomores.

"Coming into a tough road environment, a place they've never been before, normally you don't lean on sophomores as much as that," said Pedon. "Every game is different, but I felt their juice throughout. I thought they were sound, I thought they were solid."

Pence has 29 points through ISU's first two games. In a limited role as a freshmen, he scored 20 points in 24 games.

ISU led 42-31 at halftime with redshirt freshman Cameron Barnes scoring eight points and the Redbirds hitting 7 of 13 from 3-point range.

The Bison pulled within 54-53 on a basket from former Redbird Luke Kasubke and led briefly at 56-55 on a Jacari White 3-pointer with 10:03 to play.

Kasubke finished with four points in 11 minutes off the bench. ISU's Boden Skunberg, who was NDSU's leading scorer last season, did not play because of a hamstring strain.

The Redbirds shot 47.5 percent from the field (28 of 59), 40 percent from beyond the arc (8 of 20) and 92.9 percent at the free throw line (13 of 14). ISU also outrebounded the Bison 40-31.

"I love the fact we won the battle of the glass," said Pedon. "That was going to be vital, especially coming on the road playing a physical team like them."

White led NDSU with 27 points.

ISU returns to CEFCU Arena on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. encounter with Ohio University.