Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO - USF didn't have any answers for Illinois State on the defensive end of the floor and as a result the Redbirds walked away with a 90-76 victory over the Dons in the Golden Gate Challenge played at Memorial Gymnasium.
With the win Illinois State improves to 3-4 on the season while USF falls to 5-4 overall.
Six Redbirds scored in double figures, including Zach Lofton, Paris Lee and Bobby Hunter who scored 15 points each. Nick Zeisloft added 14, Daishon Knight 12 and Reggie Lynch 10 to round out a very balanced scoring sheet.
Tim Derksen had a team high 18 points for USF while
Mark Tollefsen added 17.
Illinois State made 13-of-27 three-pointers, including 11-of-17 after intermission and knocked down 15-of-16 shots from the floor en route to scoring a season-high 90 points.
USF shot 50 percent from the floor but could not get anything to drop from long distance, going 4-for-27 from beyond the arc.
The Dons held a 42-33 advantage on the boards.
The Redbirds were also up to the task defensively, forcing the Dons into a season-high 19 turnovers.
Illinois State led 34-28 at the half but quickly took control of the game following the break by hitting four straight three-pointers to build a 46-30 lead with 18:10 left. Lee connected on two of his three-pointers on the night during the run.
The closest USF could come to the Redbirds in the second half was 10 points at 53-43 with 12:14 left but Illinois State thwarted off the Dons threat by going on a 11-2 run to open a 19-point lead at 64-45 with 10:23 left.
Illinois State enjoyed as much as 24 point lead late in the game, the last time at 84-60 with 1:58 left.
The Dons fullcourt pressure made the final score closer than the game would have indicated down the stretch.
USF will be off for two weeks before returning to action on Dec. 14 to face Nicholls State at Memorial Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
Rex Walters' Postgame Comments
"We didn't play well and they are a tough match-up. They are hard to guard. We threw a lot of things at them...played man-to-man, some zone and our ball screen coverage changed over the course of the game just to try to figure out how to keep those guys out of the paint. When we reacted to their penetration, the 3's were wide open."
"We weren't able to attack their zone and defensively it was a sive - penetrate and kick, penetrate and kick and lobs to the post for easy buckets."
"We didn't have much time to prepare but we knew what they were going to do. It wasn't a well-played game by our squad tonight."
