Illinois State defeats Missouri State 70-54 in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament

By Canadian Press on March 6, 2025.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Johnny Kinziger had 13 points in Illinois State’s 70-54 victory against Missouri State on Thursday in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Illinois State (19-13) plays No. 4 seed Belmont on Friday in the quarterfinals.

Kinziger added six rebounds for the Redbirds. Dalton Banks added 12 points while going 5 of 9 from the floor, including 1 for 4 from 3-point range, and 1 for 3 from the line while he also had eight assists. Chase Walker shot 4 of 10 from the field and 3 for 5 from the line to finish with 11 points.

The Bears (9-23) were led in scoring by Vincent Brady II and Michael Osei-Bonsu with 10 points apiece.

Illinois State took the lead with 9:33 left in the first half and did not give it up. Kinziger led his team in scoring with 13 points in the first half to help put them up 38-23 at the break. Illinois State extended its lead to 56-35 during the second half, fueled by an 8-0 scoring run. Malachi Poindexter scored a team-high 11 points in the second half.

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

The Associated Press