Johnny Kinziger hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with two seconds remaining as Illinois State rallied for a 78-75 victory over top-seeded Wake Forest Sunday in Winston-Salem, N.C. in the second round of the NIT.
The fourth-seeded Redbirds (22-12) advanced to the NIT quarterfinals for the fourth time in school history and first time since 1996. It will visit second-seeded Dayton Tuesday or Wednesday to battle for a spot in the semifinals.
In a game that featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes, Kinzinger snapped the final deadlock with his fifth 3-pointer to cap a 19-point performance.
After Tre’Von Spillers hit a layup to forge a 75-75 tie with 28 seconds left, Chase Walker set a screen near the top of the key on Isaac Carr. Walker’s screen forced Spillers to scramble near Kinzinger, who released a 3 from the right side that cleanly went into the net.
Following timeouts by both teams, Walker intercepted Carr’s long inbounds pass near the free-throw line to clinch the victory.
Ty Pence led Illinois State with 17 of his career-high 23 points in the second half and helped the Redbirds overcome a nine-point deficit in the final 9:21. Kinziger added 17 of his points in the final 20 minutes, including two 3s in the Redbirds’ game-ending 28-16 run.
Walker contributed 15 as nine of Illinois State’s 10 made 3-pointers came in the second half. The Redbirds were 10-of-33 from 3-point range (30.3%) and shot 41% from the floor.
Spillers tied his career high with 24 points and was 11-of-11 on the field – all inside the 3-point line. Juke Harris added 20 for the Demon Deacons (18-17), who were unable to reach the quarterfinals for the fourth time.
The Demon Deacons took the loss despite shooting 50% from the floor overall and 57.7% (15 of 26) in the second half.
After the teams were tied at 32-all at halftime, Myles Colvin’s dunk opened a 59-50 lead before the Redbirds stormed back.
The Redbirds ripped off a 13-1 run and took a 63-60 lead with 5:42 after Landon Wolf and Pence sank 3s on consecutive possessions. Spillers hit a hook shot for a 66-66 deadlock, and the game was tied four more times in the final 4:31 from there.
