NORMAL — Dan Muller preached at halftime that Illinois State needed to pick up its effort and intensity. Less than a minute into the second half, the Redbird coach was forced to call a timeout and repeat the same message.
That earned a couple ISU starters a seat on the bench for a while.
Only when heavy-underdog Bradley got within a point with 14:30 left did the Redbirds seem to wake up. MiKyle McIntosh led a balanced attack with 14 points as ISU earned its its fourth straight victory by downing the rival Braves, 75-60, in a Missouri Valley Conference basketball game Sunday before a Redbird Arena crowd of 7,888.