Illinois State beats Wake Forest 78-75, winning twice in NIT for first time in 30 years
WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. (AP) — Ty Pence had 23 points, Johnny Kinziger scored 19, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with two seconds left, and Illinois State rallied to beat top seed Wake Forest 78-75 on Sunday in the second round of the NIT.
Fourth-seeded Illinois State (22-12) heads to No. 2 seed Dayton for a campus-site quarterfinal. The last time the Redbirds won twice in a NIT appearance was in 1996.
Illinois State trailed 53-44 with 11:28 remaining before rallying to tie it on Landon Wolf's 3-pointer with 6:29 to go and then taking the lead on a Pence 3-pointer on its next possession. There were four lead changes and five ties from there — the final tie came on Tre'Von Spillers layup with 28 seconds left to set the stage for Kinziger. Pence made 8 of 11 shots with three 3-pointers and all four of his free throws.
Kinziger buried 5 of 10 from beyond the arc and added five assists. Chase Walker scored 15. Spillers made all 11 of his shots and scored 24 to pace the Demon Deacons (18-17), adding eight rebounds.
Juke Harris totaled 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Harris finished with 750 points this season — the second highest total in program history. Len Chappell set the record with 932 points during the 1961-62 season.