Blistering second half shooting performance by Redbirds ends Drake’s 10-game series streak against ISU.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Chase Walker had 17 points in Illinois State’s 73-56 win against Drake on Monday.

Walker shot 6 of 7 from the field and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line for the Redbirds (11-3, 3-0 Missouri Valley Conference). Johnny Kinziger scored 15 points while shooting 5 for 8 (3 for 5 from 3-point range) and 2 of 4 from the free-throw line and added six rebounds. Boden Skunberg shot 5 for 8, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc to finish with 14 points and five rebounds.

Okku Federiko led the Bulldogs (7-7, 1-2) in scoring, finishing with 11 points and four steals. Jalen Quinn added 10 points for Drake.

Illinois State took the lead with 8:08 left in the first half and did not trail again. Ty’Reek Coleman led with eight points in the first half to help put them up 31-27 at the break.

Illinois State extended its lead to 68-48 during the second half, fueled by a 12-3 scoring run. Skunberg scored a team-high 11 points in the second half.

Drake Team Notes
—Drake evened its overall record to 7-7 overall including a 1-2 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
—Drake lost its third straight home game for the first time since falling to Fresno State, Jackson State and South Dakota State in the 2016-17 campaign.
—Drake suffered its worst Missouri Valley Conference loss since dropping an 87-65 verdict at Belmont Jan. 7, 2024.
—Drake collected a season-high 12 steals, marking the third game this season the Bulldogs have collected 10 or more steals.
—Drake scored a season-low 56 points, while shooting a season-low 33.9 percent from the floor (19-56)
—There were seven lead changes and four ties in the game.
—A three-point basket by Braden Appelhans gave Drake its biggest lead of the game at 14-10 with 11:19 left in the first half.
—Drake fell to 1-7 when trailing at half, unable to erase a 31-27 deficit.
 
Drake Player Notes
—Okku Federiko led Drake with 11 points, while collecting a career-high four steals — all in the first half.
—Senior transfer guard Jalen Quinn added 10 points with nine coming in the first half.
—Redshirt junior guard Andrew Alia chipped in with nine points and a team-high four rebounds.
—Redshirt junior guard Braden Appelhans collected a career-high three steals.
—Senior guard Jaehshon Thomas, who averages 11.7 points, missed his first game of the season because of illness.
 
Drake The Series
—Ilinois State, which snapped a 10-game losing streak to Drake, leads the series, 62-42.
—This marked the Redbirds’ first win against Drake since claiming a 57-53 win against the Bulldogs, in Normal, Ill., Feb. 22, 2020.
—This was Illinois State’s widest winning margin against Drake, since earning an 82-53 victory in Des Moines, Feb. 7, 2007.