Illinois State completed the league's five-game BracketBusters' sweep on Sunday, beating Wright State, 54-46.   The Redbirds reached 20 wins for the first time in seven seasons.  The Valley won all five of its ESPNU BracketBusters appearances, and the league went 8-2 on the weekend overall as the league enters its final week of the regular season.

NORMAL, Ill. – Led by junior guard Emmanuel Holloway’s career-high 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, Illinois State held on to defeat a defensive-minded Wright State squad, 54-46, in Sunday’s O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBuster game in front of 6,089 fans on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. With the win, Illinois State (20-8, 11-5) moved to 5-1 all-time in BracketBuster games. ISU also claimed its first 20-win season since 2000-01, while snapping Wright State’s 11-game winning streak. 

Alongside Holloway, freshman guard Alex Rubin also set a career-high with seven points, while senior forward Anthony Slack added seven points and a game-high eight rebounds.  Seven different Redbirds scored in the game, but only Holloway cracked double-figures.

Scottie Wilson led the Wright State attack with 13 points and five rebounds. Vaughn Duggins was the other Raider in double-figures with 10 points.

The first half featured 10 lead changes and neither team led by more than three points. The Redbirds committed 10 turnovers and shot just 40 percent from the field (9-of-22), but Wright State shot a mere 33 percent (9-of-27). Illinois State made four three-pointers to only two for Wright State to hold a 22-20 lead at the break.

Illinois State went on an 18-1 run, including an 11-0 spurt that spanned both halves, to take a 35-21 lead at the 13:18 mark. Over that 12-minute span, Wright State did not make a field goal.

ISU took its largest lead of the game, 48-30, on a pair of free throws by Rubin with six minutes remaining. Wright State countered with a 16-2 run of its own to cut the lead to just three points, 49-46, with just 49 seconds on the clock, but the Raiders were unable to score again after that.

Sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge sealed the deal by making two free-throws with 0:14 remaining and gave the Redbirds their final eight-point lead.  Eldridge, ISU’s leading scorer on the season, was held to just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, but finished the game as the Redbirds second–leading rebounder with six caroms.