(GREEN BAY ATHLETICS) GREEN BAY – Five Phoenix scored in double digits to help the Green Bay men’s basketball team close out the preseason with an exhibition win over Illinois State, 79-71 at home on Saturday.
Of those five, the Phoenix were led by Ne’quan Brown, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. Ahmere Carson added 11 points and nine rebounds, and Isaiah Sutherland, Marcus Hall, and Orlando Lovejoy helped out with 10 points.
The Green Bay offense was efficient from deep, making nine threes on 24 attempts. Brown was the most prolific shooter for the Phoenix, draining four threes in the game. ISU made 13-of-32 from deep.
The Green Bay defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Saturday’s game, forcing 14 Illinois State turnovers while committing just nine on the other end. Those takeaways turned into 10 points on the other end of the floor.
Green Bay area native Johnny Kinziger led the Redbirds with 14 points and five assists on the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After jumping out to an 11-5 advantage, Green Bay went on a 7-0 run with 15:00 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Tadej Colnaric to increase its lead to 18-5. The Phoenix then lost some of that lead in the final 13 minutes of the half, but still entered halftime with a 37-33 advantage. Green Bay did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 20 of its 37 points close to the basket.
Illinois State battled back and tied the game up multiple times near the beginning of the second half, but Green Bay never surrendered the lead and eventually went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Marcus Hall’s three, to grow the lead to 68-59 with 2:22 to go in the contest. The Redbirds narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Phoenix still cruised the rest of the way for the 79-71 win. Green Bay got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 22 of its 42 points in the half.
GAME NOTES
» The Phoenix never trailed in the second half on its way to victory.
» GB tallied 15 total assists in the game; ISU had 18.
» The Green Bay bench added 34 points while ISU’s had 36.
» Green Bay had a 35-30 edge on the boards in the win.
» Green Bay got a game-high nine rebounds from Ahmere Carson.
COMING UP
The Phoenix will tip off its 2026-27 regular season on Monday, November 2, when they host Lawrence University at the Kress Center at 6:30 p.m. CT.
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