Illinois St. 80, Grambling St. 56

Published Dec. 22, 2009 10:47 p.m. ET

foxsports

Osiris Eldridge scored a season-high 23 points Tuesday night to help Illinois State defeat Grambling State, 80-56.

Jackie Carmichael matched his career-best performance with 16 points for the Redbirds (9-2), and Dinma Odiakosa had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Illinois State held a 43-27 rebounding edge over the Tigers.

Eldridge had 18 of his points in the first half, when Illinois State built a 39-28 lead. The Redbirds then scored the first seven points of the second half and kept the lead in double figures for the remainder of the game.

Lance Fuertado had 21 points to lead Grambling (2-6), and Donald Qualls scored 13.