Illinois State Redbirds fell behind 8-0 to the Drake Bulldogs over the opening three minutes of the game and could not recover, falling in the 2024 opener by an 86-71 final score at the Knapp Center on Tuesday evening.

Darius Burford scored a team-high 14 points for the Redbirds, making 6-of-13 shots from the field, while Malachi Poindexter also reached double-figure scoring with 11. All 11 ISU players that saw action reached the scoring column in the game with at least three points each. Brandon Lieb pulled down a team-best six rebounds – three of those coming on the offensive end – while Poindexter gave out a team-best three assists.

The Bulldogs made three of their first four shots in jumping out to the eight-point advantage, before the Redbirds answered back with four straight points on a Myles Foster free throw and a Johnny Kinziger three-pointer, closing the gap to four. 

The ISU deficit was trimmed to two with 12:59 to play following a Burford lay-in; however, the hosts followed by scoring the proceeding 17 points to streak ahead to a 19-point lead. 

The Redbirds immediately responded with an 11-0 run of their own to close the gap to eight and got as close as seven before the hosts closed the half strong, taking a 19-point, 47-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

After a three-point play by Foster to open the scoring in the second half, Drake scored the next dozen points, before cruising to the 17-point win.

Drake was led by reigning MVC Player of the Year Tucker DeVries who scored 22 points, as Atin Wright scored 21 and Conor Enright 10.

The Redbirds, now 8-6 on the year and 2-1 in the MVC, host Southern Illinois on Saturday, January 6 in a 6 p.m. tip-off inside CEFCU Arena.