Fayne ties career-high 24, Illinois State beats Valpo 76-65

Jan 28, 2018, 12:21 am

NORMAL, Ill. -- Phil Fayne tied his career high with 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed nine boards to help Illinois State beat Valparaiso 76-65 on Saturday night.

Milik Yarbrough added 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Redbirds (11-11, 5-5 Missouri Valley Conference). Keyshawn Evans had three 3-pointers and scored 17.

Illinois State led the entire way and pushed its advantage to double digits shortly before the end of the first half. The Redbirds had a 7-0 run early in the second half to lead 45-29, and they kept the lead between 10 and 19 the rest of the way.

Bakari Evelyn had 20 points, Derrik Smits scored a career-high 17 and Tevonn Walker added 16 for the Crusaders (11-12, 2-8), who lost their fifth straight.

Valparaiso missed its first 14 3-point attempts and finished the game 3 of 19.