BLOOMINGTON, ILL. – Sophomore guard Osiris Eldrdge ignited a second-half comeback, scoring 17 of his game-high 30 points in the final period, to power Illinois State over visiting UNC Wilmington, 89-73, in an opening round pairing of the Chicago Invitational Challenge Sunday at Redbird Arena.

            The Redbirds improved to 3-0 on Doug Collins Court by erasing a five-point halftime deficit with a 53-point explosion in the final 20 minutes to pull out the win and remain perfect on the new season.

            The Seahawks had their record evened at 1-1 after building an early lead and then succumbing to ISU’s pressure after intermission.

            Eldridge led four Redbirds in double figures with his 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 behind the arc. Senior guard Dom Johnson added 17 points, senior forward Anthony Slack contributed 15 points and senior center Levin Dyer collected 12 points off the bench.

            Senior guard T.J. Carter paced the Seahawks with 19 points, but struggled from the floor, connecting on just 3-of-12 shots after being hounded by ISU’s pressure defense. The Mechanicsville, Md., product did convert 11-of-14 free throws in 34 minutes of action.

            Senior guard Daniel Fountain added 16 points, while senior forward Todd Hendley and senior center Vladimir Kuljanin pitched in 14 points apiece. Kuljanin added 11 rebounds for his second double-double in as many games.

            With UNCW holding a 41-36 edge at halftime, the Redbirds still trailed, 55-46, with 14:10 remaining before mounting an impressive late surge behind several players.

            Down nine points after Kuljanin’s spinning bucket in the lane, the Redbirds used a 15-2 run to take control. Dyer drained a 3-pointer on the right win to start an 8-0 mini-run and Slack picked up a loose ball and dropped it in with 9:04 showing to cap the rally and put the Redbirds ahead, 61-57.

            The Seahawks sliced the deficit to two points, 66-64, on a free throw by Carter at 6:36 before Osiris slammed the door. Dyer canned a trey to increase the margin to five points and Osiris made it a seven-point lead at 5:43 with a jumper near the free throw line.

            ISU’s lead mushroomed to 16 points three times in the final minute as the Redbirds held off the Seahawks. Johnson made four straight free throws and the hosts made 7-of-8 charity tosses in the final 1:25 to nail down the non-conference win.

            The Redbirds outscored the Seahawks, 53-21, in the second half and hit 7-for-10 trifectas in the final 20 minutes after going 3-for-8 in the first period. Overall, ISU shot 51.7 percent on its home floor to take a 2-1 lead in the all-time series between the two teams.

            UNCW wound up shooting just 37.7 percent, including a paltry 31.4 percent during ISU’s second-half rally. The Seahawks did win the battle of the boards, 36-33, behind Kuljanin’s game-high 11 caroms.

            Coach Benny Moss and his club move over to Bloomington, Ind., on Monday to begin preparations for a Tuesday matchup against eighth-ranked Indiana at Assembly Hall.