NORMAL, Ill. -- Milik Yarbrough, Phil Fayne and Matt Hein scored 13 points apiece and Illinois State held on to beat Evansville 75-71 on Saturday.
The Redbirds (13-11, 7-5 Missouri Valley Conference) led by one at the break but Evansville went ahead 43-41 on a Ryan Taylor 3 early in the second half. Illinois State answered with an 11-2 run capped by a Fayne dunk to reclaim the lead, 52-45, with 10:38 to play. The Purple Aces (15-10, 5-7) cut it to 59-56 with 6:11 left but a Madison Williams 3-pointer and a 3-point play by Fayne in the final three minutes helped keep the Redbirds on top.