After a jumper from junior Angel Alamo drew the Hornets within seven points (53-46) with 11:09 remaining in the game, Illinois State went on a 17-8 run over the next five minutes to take a commanding 70-54 lead with 6:03 left. The Redbirds led by at least 11 points the rest of the way, as their 17-point margin of victory was also the largest lead of the night.

Illinois State won its fourth game in a row and improved to 4-2 this season. In addition, the Redbirds improved to 175-72 at Redbird Arena since its opening in 1989. Sacramento State had its two-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 4-4 as the team gets set to travel to Louisville for a game on Saturday. The Hornets are now 0-4 this season against teams with winning records, and 4-0 against teams with records below the .500 mark.

Illinois State shot 60.7 percent (34-56) from the field, the highest percentage by a Sacramento State opponent this season. In addition, the Redbirds outrebounded the Hornets, 37-29, and attempted 10 more free throws (19-9). Sacramento State was whistled for 21 fouls as both Alamo and senior Alex Bausley had to play in foul trouble for a good portion of the second half. In fact, Bausley picked up his fourth foul with 18:52 remaining in the second half, but still managed to play 12 second-half minutes before fouling out with 1:32 left in the game.

Slack shot 9-of-10 from the field and Dilligard finished 5-of-6, as all but one Illinois State starter shot at least 50 percent from the floor. Roberto Fortes scored 11 points (3-of-6 three-pointers) and Boo Richardson added 12 points (2-of-2 three-pointers) for an Illinois State team that went 7-of-15 (.467) from beyond the arc.

Sacramento State, which forced Illinois State into 20 turnovers and attempted nine more shots from the field, held early leads of 11-5 (15:20) and 15-10 (12:54) before Illinois State used a 10-0 run to take a 20-15 lead midway through the first half. The Hornets closed to within two points of ISU’s lead (25-23) with 5:40 remaining in the first half, but that was as close as Sacramento State would come to reclaiming the lead the remainder of the night.

Sacramento State starters Alamo (16 points, six rebounds, 7-of-8 from the field), Bausley (13 points), sophomore Loren Leath (12 points), senior Haron Hargrave (nine points, five assists, eight steals) and junior Roderick Adams (season-high nine points, four rebounds) combined for 59 of the team’s 69 points. The eight steals for Hargrave were a career high, and tied for the second-best mark in Sacramento State’s Div. I history (1991-pres.). The Hornets finished with 15 steals as the team has now forced double figures in steals in all but one game this season.

Leath struggled from the field, finishing just 4-of-18 as he accounted for more than 25 percent (.281) of the Hornets’ field goal attempts. In Sacramento State’s four losses this season, Leath is now averaging 12.0 points while shooting just 26.1 percent (18-69) from the field and 24.2 percent (8-33) from beyond the three-point arc. In the team’s victories, Leath is averaging 23.5 points while shooting 48.6 percent (34-70) from the floor, and 52.5 percent (21-40) from beyond the arc. Overall, he is averaging a team-high 17.8 points.

Sacramento State shot well from the field (44.6 percent), but could not stop Illinois State from scoring nearly every time the Hornets tried cutting into the Redbird lead.

Tonight’s game was the first of a stretch that will see Sacramento State play six of seven games on the road. That includes this Saturday, Dec. 2, when the team plays Louisville for the first time in school history. The Hornets and Cardinals will tip off at 4:05 p.m. PST at Freedom Hall.