NORMAL, Ill.- Wichita State was defeated, 83-75, by Illinois State Thursday night, snapping a nine-game Redbird losing streak against the Shockers. WSU falls to 12-7 on the season and 3-5 in the MVC despite another record-setting night from senior Kyle Wilson.

Wilson set a new career-high for the second straight game, but occurred foul trouble and had to sit for the last few minutes. The Plano, Texas native topped his previous high with a 25 point performance on Monday night against Creighton. He reached tonight's new high, 27, on 7-12 shooting and going 8-10 from the line.  

P. J. Couisnard and Ryan Martin also ended in double figures with 15 and 14, respectively. Sean Ogirri joined Wilson and Martin with a team-high six rebounds.

Levi Dyer led the Redbirds with 20 points. Osiris Eldridge followed with 16 and Anthony Slack chipped in 14. Greg Dilligard ended with 10 in the effort that moved Illinois State to 10-9 and 2-6 in the conference.

The first half began with both teams trading baskets until Wichita State was able to take an early lead at 10-5, courtesy of a layup from Ryan Martin at the 12:45 mark. The `Birds knotted the score at 10 when Dom Johnson hit a leaning jumper at 11:52; however, ISU and WSU traded baskets again until a layup in traffic from Slack gave the Redbirds a 19-17 advantage with 8:01 remaining.

The Redbirds were able to pull ahead, 30-22, when they went on a 13-5 scoring run that spanned just under five minutes. The run was sparked by sophomore Mike Vandello, who had five points. However, the Shockers went on a 7-4 spurt to close the gap at the half, 34-29.

The second half began similar to the opening frame, as both the Redbirds and Shockers traded early buckets. Wilson had a large part in keeping WSU in the game, earning 13 of the Shockers first 16 points of the half. It wasn't until a 10-3 run by the `Birds that ISU was able to take a 54-45 advantage on a three pointer from Eldridge with 9:34 remaining, forcing a Shocker timeout. Wichita State was able to re-group and cut into the `Birds' lead on a 7-2 run, paced by three points from guard Matt Braeuer, with the Redbirds clinging to a 54-52 lead with 8:16 left.

The `Birds took their largest lead of the game after Slack hit two free throws and Illinois State built a 10-point lead at 67-57 at the 4:22 mark. They matched the 10-point lead at 70-60 after Slack hit a layup and was fouled by the Shockers' Wilson, nailing the subsequent free throw. Wilson committed his fifth foul during the play and fouled out with 27 points.

The Shockers rallied once again to cut the margin to 76-72 with 55.8 seconds remaining. But, after the Shockers regained possession on a jump ball, Gal Mekel attempted a shot that was blocked by Slack and sparked a fast break in which Boo Richardson converted an uncontested layup to put the game out of reach.

"Our effort was good in the second half," said Wichita State Head Coach Mark Turgeon. "Things just aren't going our way. So many guys are too inconsistent. We have to play tougher than we've been playing."

Wichita State continues on the road as they travel to Bradley to take on the Braves on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on KWCH Channel 12 and can also be heard on KNSS 1330.

-Wichita State-