Illinois State won its second consecutive game in the Cayman Islands Classic on Wednesday afternoon, topping the Boise State Broncos 73-70 to earn fifth place in the eight-team tournament, as Milik Yarbrough was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Boise State jumped out quickly, as the hosts on the scoreboard pushed ahead to a 9-2 lead two minutes into the contest and trailed by as many as nine at 19-10 with 14 minutes to play in the opening period. The Redbirds went on an immediate 6-0 run on a pair of Phil Fayne baskets and a Keyshawn Evans lay-in to close the gap to 19-16. Boise State pushed back to a seven point lead at 30-23, before ISU countered with a 12-0 run, starting with a Zach Copeland jumper and ending on a Rey Idowu tip-in with 1:47 to play in the half, propelling ISU to a 36-35 halftime lead.
The teams traded baskets to open the second half, with Boise State taking its final lead of the game on its first possession of the second half as Illinois State ran off five straight points on a jumper by Milik Yarbrough and a three-pointer by Evans, and the Redbirds didn't trail again in the contest. A Yarbrough three-point play put ISU ahead by a dozen with 7:25 remaining in the contest. The Broncos closed to within as few as two down the stretch but could not overcome the deficit as the Redbirds held on to improve to 4-2 on the year.
