ST. LOUIS - The depth of the Illinois State men's basketball team proved to be too much for Shy Ely and the University of Evansville to compete with.
Senior guard Chamberlain "Champ" Oguchi scored 20 points and received contributions from Lloyd Phillips (16) and Osiris Eldridge (14) as the Redbirds beat the Purple Aces 78-68 on Friday.
Senior forward Shy Ely shouldered a bulk of the scoring for Evansville (17-13) as he poured in 29 points on 11-for-22 shooting.
Illinois State head coach Tim Jankovich said Ely earned his respect as he has grown into one of the conference's elite players.
"I have so much respect for Ely. He reminds me so much of my college roomate, Rolando Blackman," Jankovich said. "He's turned into such a great scorer. Going into this game, I was concerned because I have so much respect for their team, their coaches and Ely."
Evansville head coach Marty Simmons, whose team is eligible for postseason play despite the loss, said the Redbirds' athleticism proved too much to handle.
"Illinois State was a difficult team to guard because of their quickness and speed," Simmons said. "We did a decent job for the most part. We spurted out there in the second half, and we were unable to catch up."
The win sets up a date between between Illinois State and Creighton with a shot at the Missouri Valley Conference title game on the line.
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