ISU beats Evansville in OT

NORMAL—Zach Lofton scored 21 points and pulled down six rebounds as Illinois State beat Evansville 79-78 in overtime Wednesday night.Daishon Knight came off the bench to add 16 points for the Redbirds (10-7, 3-2 Missouri Valley Conference). Bobby Hunter scored 10 points and Reggie Lynch had eight points and six rebounds. The team was 45 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from the line overall.Illinois State led by two at the break but Evansville battled back to lead 61-60 with five minutes to play in regulation. With the Redbirds down by three, Knight hit from beyond the arc with eight seconds left to tie the game, 70-70, and send it into overtime.In overtime, Knight sank two buckets from the paint and Lofton hit a 3-pointer with a minute left to help give the Redbirds the edge.D.J. Balentine scored 22 points for the Aces (8-10, 1-4).