DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Daishon Knight scored 20 points, his third straight game of 20 or more, and Reggie Lynch added 13 with nine rebounds as Illinois State defeated Drake 64-56 on Tuesday night. The Redbirds (12-7, 4-3 Missouri Valley Conference) battled through a tight first half to lead 29-27 at the break — grabbing the lead for good on a Bobby Hunter 3-pointer with 2:31 left in the half. Knight added a three-point play 48 seconds before the half.

Drake’s Gary Ricks Jr. and C.J. Rivers hit 3-pointers to cut the gap to 36-35 early in the second half, but Illinois State never trailed after halftime and soon had the lead up to seven points. Rivers and Ricks scored 10 points each to lead Drake (4-15, 1-6).

Lynch blocked three shots to tie Illinois State’s sophomore blocks record with 48, matching Joe Galvin’s 1977-78 mark. Hunter and Tony Wills scored eight each.