Gibson scores 17, Indiana State defeats Illinois State 80-64

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — Trenton Gibson's 17 points off of the bench helped lead Indiana State to an 80-64 victory over Illinois State on Saturday.

Gibson was 5 of 6 shooting and 5 of 7 from the free throw line for the Sycamores (20-9, 13-5 Missouri Valley Conference). Cooper Neese scored 16 points while going 4 of 7 from the floor and 7 for 7 from the line. Xavier Bledson had 12 points.

It was the seventh straight victory for the Sycamores and they moved to within one half game of the conference lead behind Bradley and Drake. The Braves and Bulldogs both play on Sunday.

The Redbirds (10-19, 5-13) were led in scoring by Darius Burford, who finished with 23 points. Kendall Lewis added 14 points and 12 rebounds and Malachi Poindexter scored 12 points for the Sycamores.

Neese led his team in scoring with 11 points in the first half to help put them up 37-26 at the break. Indiana State pulled away with a 13-2 run in the second half to extend an eight-point lead to 19 points. Gibson led the way with a team-high 11 second-half points as Indiana State extended its lead.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.