PEORIA, Ill. - Illinois State guard Austin Hill scored 10 of his 12 points in overtime, including the game-winning free throws with 3.1 seconds remaining, lifting the visiting Redbirds (10-11, 2-8 MVC) to a 79-78 win at Bradley (6-15, 0-10 MVC) Wednesday night at Carver Arena.
Bradley senior guard Andrew Warren scored 11 of his game-high 25 points in the overtime period, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 16.9 seconds remaining. After working the clock down, Hill was fouled on a drive to the basket to set up the winning charity shots. The game went to overtime when Bradley junior forward Will Egolf sank two free throws with 0.5 seconds left to forge a 65-65 tie.
Jackie Carmichael paced Illinois State with career-highs of 24 points and 17 rebounds. He was 12-for-20 from the free throw line, equaling the second-most free throw attempts ever by a Bradley opponent. Anthony Cousin added 14 points off the ISU bench, while John Wilkins added 11.
In addition to his game-high scoring effort, Warren also led the Braves with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Senior guard Dodie Dunson chipped in 11 points and Egolf added 10.
The Braves came out hot and quickly built a 15-point advantage, 23-8, when Dodie Dunson scored on a drive through the lane with 11:42 left in the half. Although Illinois State steadily chipped away at the lead, Bradley still held a 61-52 lead after two Warren free throws with 2:40 left in regulation. The free throws were the result of a technical foul against Illinois State's Jackie Carmichael for hanging on the rim after a missed dunk, one of five technicals assessed in the game.
Although he was yelling at Egolf to get up and get back on defense after he lost the ball on a drive, Bradley head coach Jim Les was hit with a technical with 1:19 left and Anthony Cousin sank the resulting free throws to pull Illinois State within 61-55. Cousin added a layup seven seconds later to complete a four-point possession and get the Redbirds within four, 61-57.
A native of Bloomington, Ill., Dunson missed two free throws with 1:00 left and the Redbirds sliced deeper into the deficit when Wilkins drained his only 3-pointer of the night in six tries with 38 seconds left to make it 61-60. Hill followed two Jake Eastman free throws with an interior bucket to keep ISU within one, 63-62. The Redbirds gained their first lead of the night, 64-63, after Dyricus Simms-Edwards missed two free throws and Jon Ekey followed with two charity shots with 13 seconds left.
Carmichael blocked a Dunson layup attempt on the ensuing Bradley possession, but made only 1-of-2 free throws with 4.0 seconds left to leave the door open for Egolf's tying attempts.
The overtime session featured four ties and a pair of lead changes. Warren pulled Bradley back from a 71-67 deficit by draining 3-pointers with 2:51 and 1:30 remaining. His second triple in the extra session resulted in a 73-73 tie. He added two free throws with 45 seconds left for a 75-75 tie before his final trey gave the Braves their final lead, 78-77.
Bradley will be on the road for three of its next four games, beginning Saturday in a 1:05 p.m. game at Wichita State that will be televised nationally on espn2. The Braves will return home to host Creighton Feb. 1 in a 7:05 p.m. contest at Carver Arena.
