MiKyle McIntosh scored 20 points, Deontae Hawkins added 14 more and Illinois State took sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 76-62 win over Wichita State on Saturday night.
Illinois State (14-4, 6-0) got a layup from DJ Clayton with just over five minutes left in the first half to spark a 12-3 run that gave the Redbirds a 36-27 halftime advantage and the lead for good.
Clayton finished with 11 points, while Evans and Paris Lee had 10 points apiece for the Redbirds, who shot 54 percent from the field.
Wichita State (15-4, 5-1) cut the deficit to a single point in the second half with a 3-pointer from Brown that made it 43-42 before the Redbirds pulled away again with an 11-2 run and held on down the stretch.
Landry Shamet and Darral Willis Jr. led Wichita State with 14 points each.
>>Maryland Comes Back To Beat Illinois
Anthony Cowan scored a career-high 19 points and led Maryland to a 62-56 win over Illinois on Saturday.
Maryland (16-2, 4-1 Big Ten) faced a better team than the one it dominated early in the season, but a sloppy second half from the Illini allowed the Terrapins to come back and hold off the Illini in the final five minutes.
The Terrapins had a cold start, including a 3-for-13 first half from beyond the arc, but Maryland responded to shoot 43 percent from the field and 27 percent from 3-point range to make up for earlier mistakes.
Melo Trimble and Jaylen Brantley each added 12 points.
Maverick Morgan led the way for Illinois (12-6, 2-3 Big Ten) with 15 points and five rebounds Leron Black scored 14 points and added nine rebounds.
Illinois will face a difficult test when it travels to Purdue on Tuesday.
>>Bradley Falls To Indiana State
Matt Van Scyoc scored 22 points and Jordan Barnes a career-high 20 and Indiana State rode a big first half to an 81-71 victory over Bradley on Saturday to snap a five-game losing streak in picking up its first Missouri Valley Conference win.
Van Scyoc made six 3-pointers and Barnes five for the Sycamores (7-11, 1-5), who were 11 of 21 from the arc in the first half in taking a 44-22 lead.
Indiana State cooled to 3-of-11 3-point shooting in the second half but the Braves (8-11, 3-3) were only able to get within single digits at 64-56 on Darrell Brown's 3-pointer with 6:50 left. Two free throws each from Barnes and Everett Clemons made it 14-point lead with a minute remaining.
Laquarious Paige added 10 points for the Sycamores.
Brown had 20 points for Bradley, which has lost eight straight at Indiana State. Donte Thomas and Nate Kennell added 12 points each.
