DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Daishon Knight scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench as Illinois State made a big first-half lead stand up for a 77-63 win over Drake Saturday night.
The Redbirds raced to an 18-6 start in the first five minutes of the game and led 42-25 at intermission.
Reggie Lynch scored 14 points and grabbed seven boards for Illinois State (11-7, 4-2 Missouri Valley), with Bobby Hunter and Nick Zeisloft adding 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Redbirds shot 48 percent from the floor (26 of 54) and were 16 of 19 from the line.
Richard Carter tossed in 24 points, hitting 9 of 10 from the line, to lead Drake (10-8, 1-5). Aaron Hawley scored 14 points for the Bulldogs, who shot 16 of 46 (34.8) from the field and 24 of 30 from the line.
