GWU VS ILLINOIS STATE

PHOTO BY: @billkiser / @vidaily.news

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, St. Thomas – Gerald Drumgoole, Jr. and Trey Autry scored 16 points apiece, while Darren Buchanan, Jr. added 15 as the George Washington Revolutionaries (5-1) staged a furious second-half rally in a 72-64 win over Illinois State (4-3) in the fifth-place game at the 2024 Paradise Jam.

In a closely-played opening half, the two teams traded leads in the first three minutes; but Illinois State erased an early 6-4 deficit with a 7-0 run to pull ahead by five, and the Redbirds did not trail again for the remainder of the half. While George Washington was able to tie the contest twice after that, but could not reclaim the lead. The largest lead of the half for ISU was six points, as the Redbirds went ahead 23-17 with 6:51 to play, but twice in the final minutes of the half the Revolutionaries were able to pull to within one. Illinois State led 29-27 at the break. 

The Redbirds began to pull away in the second half, stretching the lead to double figures (38-28) just over three minutes into the half, and pushed ahead by as many as 13 (45-32) with 12:25 to play. However, the Revs found their stride and outscored the Redbirds 40-19 from that point forward to seal the victory.

Illinois State hits the road for its next contest, opening Missouri Valley Conference play at Belmont on Wednesday, Dec. 4, while George Washington returns home this Friday for a matchup with VMI.

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