Illinois St. 69, Missouri St. 57

2/13/2008 10:10 PM

NORMAL, Ill. (AP) -Osiris Eldridge had 24 points and Anthony Slack added 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Illinois State to a 69-57 win over Missouri State on Wednesday night.

With the teams tied at 21, Illinois State (18-7, 10-4 Missouri Valley) went on an 18-5 run over the final nine minutes to lead 39-26 at halftime. The Redbirds held Missouri State (12-14, 5-9) scoreless for nearly six minutes during the span, with the Bears going 0-for-5 from the field and adding three turnovers.

Missouri State shot just 36 percent from the field for the game and allowed 23 second-chance points.

Eldridge was 5-for-9 in 3-point attempts in his fourth straight game reaching double-figure scoring. Slack's double-double was his fourth this season.

Deven Mitchell and Justin Fuehrmeyer led Missouri State with 12 points each. Spencer Laurie scored 11 points.