NORMAL, Ill. - Daishon Knight scored Illinois State's first seven points to launch a hot start for the hosts and he finished with a game-high 26 points as the Redbirds (14-12, 7-7 MVC) earned a split in the Interstate 74 Rivalry with a 70-54 victory against Bradley (11-16, 6-8 MVC) Saturday night at Redbird Arena.

Sparked by Knight, Illinois State raced to a 13-2 lead as Bradley missed its first eight field goal attempts. Though the visiting Braves would storm back to claim a quartet of 2-point leads, a Parris Lee 3-pointer with 1:47 left in the first half gave the Redbirds a lead, 27-26, they would not surrender the rest of the game.

After making just 2-of-10 3-point field goal attempts in the first half, the Redbirds heated up in the second half by draining 8-of-15 from long range after the break. Knight led the way by making 5-of-7 3-point tries to highlight Illinois State's 10-for-25 effort overall.

While Bradley held its own from beyond the arc by making 7-of-19 (.368) 3-point tries, the Braves were just 10-for-30 (.333) from 2-point range and further hampered themselves by making only 13-of-23 (.565) free throw attempts, including two misses on the front end of 1-and-1 opportunities.

Walt Lemon, Jr. scored a team-high 18 points to move into 10th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,626 career points. Auston Barnes drained 4-of-6 3-point field goal attempts in a 12-point effort and Tyshon Pickett posted his second straight double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Lee complimented Knight's 26-point effort with 13 points, while Bobby Hunter added 10 points and a game-high five assists.

Bradley will hit the road again Tuesday versus another in-state Valley rival when the Braves visit Southern Illinois. Tuesday's 7 p.m. game versus the Salukis will be televised in Carbondale by WSIU and will be shown locally on WAOE (My59).