Streaking Illinois State went 13-for-16 from the line in the final 3:41 to hold off Evansville 74-66 on Saturday night at Redbird Arena.

Osiris Eldridge scored 17 points on 4-for-7 shooting to lead the Redbirds (13-3, 5-0 Missouri Valley), who have won eight in a row, their longest streak since the end of the 1991-92 season. Boo Richardson chipped in 11 points and two assists, and Dom Johnson added 10 points.

Shy Ely had a career-high 28 points for the Purple Aces (5-10, 0-5 MVC) on 10-for-18 shooting. Jason Holsinger was the only other Evansville player in double figures, adding 10 points and six assists.

The Redbirds shot 50 percent from the field (21-for-42).

SURPRISE FLIGHT OF THE REDBIRDS

* Streak: Illinois State (13-3, 5-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, 9-0 at home) has won eight in a row.

* Context: The Redbirds have had one winning season since 2002, haven't appeared in the NCAA tournament since 1998 and haven't won eight consecutive games since the 1982-83 season.

* 2006-07: 15-16 (6-12 MVC).

* At RealtimeRPI.com: No. 31 among 341 Division I teams listed, ahead of No. 37 Indiana, No. 52 Notre Dame and No. 114 Illinois.

* Calling cards: Timely aggressiveness, defensive will, ability to focus on task at hand.

* Coach: Tim Jankovich, 47, former Kansas State point guard (1979-82) and most recently an assistant at Kansas (2003-07), Illinois (2002-03) and Vanderbilt (1999-02).

* Breakthrough wins: At Creighton (80-67) on Dec. 29, at Wichita State (49-46) on Jan. 1, home against Southern Illinois (56-47) on Jan. 5.

* Losses to: Indiana (70-57), Kent State (65-59) and Eastern Michigan (72-63).

* Next showdown: At Drake, 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19.

GETTING TO KNOW THE STARTERS

* G Boo Richardson, 5-8 sr. Kansas City, Kan. Scaled-down game now effectively focuses on energy, fewer errors, tenacious defense.

* G Osiris Eldridge, 6-3 so. Chicago (Phillips) Lone Chicago-bred starter is also explosive leading scorer (15.1 ppg).

* G Dom Johnson, 6-0 sr. Bell City, Mo. Fleet veteran wing complements ensemble in almost all categories.

* F Anthony Slack, 6-7 sr. New Orleans Top rebounder (6.4 rpg) noted for one-on-one athleticism near paint (.674 field-goal percentage).

* C Dinma Odiakosa, 6-8 so. Akuwukwu, Nigeria Lanky work-in-progress provides bounce, length, options inside.