Normal, Ill.- Illinois State (14-3, 6-0) remains perfect in Valley play as the Redbirds defeated Wichita State (8-9, 1-5) by 21 points Wednesday night in Normal, Ill.  The Redbirds improve to nine-straight wins and with the victory, sweep Wichita State for the first time since the 2000-2001 season.  

Ramon Clemente was 6-of-6 from the field to lead the team with 12 points and brought down seven rebounds.  Gal Mekel contributed 11 points, all in the second half, and Mantas Griskenas tied his season-high of eight points.  P.J. Couisnard was limited to four points as the senior had early foul trouble and fouled out at the 6:57 mark of the second half.  The Shockers outrebounded ISU 30-24, but WSU could not recover from its 24 turnovers.

Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge had a game-high 21 points with 7-for-15 shooting from the field.  Anthony Slack and Brandon Sampay each added 13 points for the Redbirds.

Both Illinois State and Wichita State began the game making early mistakes, with each team turning the ball over.  But the Redbirds were able to remain calm and took the lead by going on an 11-1 run, paced by Osiris Eldridge's seven points.  The Redbird defense caused problems for the Shocker offense, as ISU forced seven turnovers in the game's first seven minutes and four seconds.  But the Shockers were able to climb back into the game, courtesy of a 10-2 run, sparked by a Mantas Griskenas three and capped off by another three from PJ Couisnard at the 7:22 mark, forcing an ISU timeout.

The four-point deficit was the smallest since the beginning of the game, but the Redbirds picked up their intensity again, going on its own 10-2 spurt that put Illinois State ahead, 25-13, with 3:53 left in the half.  Senior Boo Richardson led the `Birds during the run, scoring five points and dishing out two assists.  Illinois State continued to pull away from the Shockers at the end of the half, as ISU outscored WSU 9-5 in the final two and a half minutes.  Richardson put the exclamation point on the Redbirds' first half, sprinting down the court after a WSU miss and nailing a buzzer beating, three-pointer from just past half court.

Illinois State continued to pick up the tempo to start out the second half, applying full-court pressure on each Wichita State possession.  The Shockers would cut the lead to 12 with threes from Mekel and Graham Hatch and a free throw from Phil Thomasson, but this was as close as WSU would get.  The Redbirds widened their lead to 16 points, 47-31, after Eldridge hit a fade-away three with Couisnard in his face at the 12:37 mark in the second half. 

Eldridge added to his barrage of threes, hitting two more treys in a 1:14 span, and sophomore Sead Odzic hit his first three as a Redbird to give Illinois State a 60-38 advantage at the third media timeout.  The Redbirds would push their lead to as much as 25, but Mekel completed a three-point play to bring it back to, 65-45.  The teams traded baskets for the remainding minutes to finish at 72-51.

The Shockers continue play in Illinois with a Saturday game against Southern Illinois. The game will be telecast on Kansas Now 22 with tip-off slated for 2:05 p.m.