NORMAL, Ill. – The Purdue Northwest men's basketball team played an exhibition game against Division I Illinois State Saturday night in Redbird Arena. PNW led midway through the first half before the host Redbirds pulled ahead to claim a 81-71 victory.

HEAD COACH BOOMER ROBERTS:
"We did a lot of good things tonight. Illinois state is big, physical, and talented, but we obviously held our own. We're a work in progress as we bring some of those guys back into the fold, so we're excited to get back at it tomorrow."
 
STAT LEADERS

• Anthony Barnard posted a team-high 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting including a pair of threes
• Sangolay Njie (13), Gregory Boyle (11) and Mikell Cooper (10) each recorded double figures in scoring
• Barnard, Cooper and Anthony Irvin each grabbed a team-best four rebounds
• Boyle dished out a team-high four assists while Cooper added three helpers

 
How it happened: Anthony Irvin's three gave the Pride their first lead of the night after ISU scored the opening basket. Then, Sangolay Njie's pull-up jumper tied the score at 10-10, before the Redbirds were able to extend their lead. ISU went up nine, 21-12, with 12:30 left in the first half but the Pride came roaring back with a 12-0 run sparked by Jonte Coleman's three.

Anthony Barnard converted on back-to-back possessions to put PNW in front 24-21 at the 9:49 mark. Then, the two teams would exchange baskets as the first half wore down and Jyrus Freels' layup with 3:45 left tied the score at 30-30. ISU closed on a 9-2 run to take a 39-32 halftime advantage, and the Redbirds would remain in front the rest of the way. The Pride pulled to within 11 midway through the second half on a layup from Boyle, and that was as close as PNW would get until making a late push with a 9-0 run to reach the final score, 81-71.
 
PNW had only 11 turnovers while forcing 17 miscues by the Redbirds. The Pride shot 40% overall and 25% from three-point range while ISU shot at a 47% clip and 33% from deep.
 
UP NEXT
PNW hosts Calumet College of St. Joseph tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. inside the Fitness & Recreation Center. The game can be viewed live on JEDtv.com.
 
FOLLOW THE PRIDE
For all the latest information on Purdue Northwest men's basketball, please visit PNWathletics.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Pride (@pnwathletics & @PNWBasketball) on Twitter. You can also find the Pride on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.