NORMAL - When Dom Johnson's 3-pointer swished through the net, the Redbird Arena crowd officially exhaled Saturday night. | Photo gallery

Johnson's basket with 1:24 left gave Illinois State a 55-46 lead and stopped a fierce Cincinnati rally from a 19-point deficit with eight minutes left. Osiris Eldridge led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds as the Redbirds held on for a 62-52 nonconference victory before a relieved season-high crowd of 6,529.

"E (Emmanuel Holloway) kicked it out to me and I was just thinking like every great shooter thinks, the next one is going in," said Johnson, who scored nine points. "I knew it was going in."

Anthony Slack added 10 points and six rebounds for ISU, which went to 6-0 at home for the first time since the 2000-01 season.

"Obviously we didn't do a good job finishing. Probably human nature crept in in a big way where you feel we've got this game," said ISU coach Tim Jankovich. "I've been at this too long and seen games turn on a dime. We got pretty scattered and made some bonehead plays."

The Redbirds (6-3), who have won 12 straight nonconference home games, will take a week off for final examinations before traveling to Bowling Green a week from today.

Eldridge, who scored 15 points in the second half, said Cincinnati (4-4) unleashed the most physical press that ISU has seen thus far.

"It was hard getting open to the big men and relieving them and getting the ball down the court," said Eldridge, who suffered a swollen knee early in the game and was limping afterwards. "We handled it well for the most part, but we had some letup and some turnovers."

ISU shot 41.9 percent from the field, but held Cincinnati to 36.7 percent.

"Why it's a great win for me personally is that I try to tell these guys the ones that mean the most to me are when you shoot poorly and win because everyone wins a lot of games when they shoot well," said Jankovich.

"Good teams have to understand it's a long year and are you tough enough and do you want it bad enough to win when you don't shoot well."

ISU held Cincinnati's leading scorer, guard Deonta Vaughn, in check most of the game. Vaughn, who came in averaging 16 points, finished with 11 points as did teammates Adam Hrycaniuk and Jamual Warren.

"They played really hard on defense and tried to take us out of our offense. We had all week to prepare, so there's no excuse," said Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin. "We knew what they were going to do. Give Illinois State credit for their defensive intensity.

"That being said, I thought we would be able to handle it (better). When Hrycaniuk went to the bench (in the first half), we went seven minutes without a basket."

Cincinnati, which had six freshmen among its 12 dressed players, took an early 9-5 before senior center Hrycaniuk picked up his second foul and sat next to Cronin.

The Bearcats missed 15 of 16 shots as ISU went on a 22-2 run to take a commanding 27-11 lead with 3:38 left. Levi Dyer's back-to-back 3-pointers put the Redbirds ahead 15-9 and temporarily pulled Cincinnati out of its 2-3 zone.

Hrycaniuk, who scored a career-high 16 points in Cincinnati's last game, returned with ISU in front 22-11. He soon picked up his third foul. But ISU was forced to put Eldridge (5:28 left) and Slack (2:48) on the bench with two fouls.

Cincinnati, which shot 27.6 percent in the first half, scored the last seven points before the break to get within 27-18 as ISU settled for long jumpers and missed its last six shots. The Redbirds shot 40.9 percent from the field in the first half.

The Redbirds opened the second half on an 11-3 run, upping their lead to 38-21 with 14:08 left on Slack's basket on a drive. The lead grew to 46-27 on Dinma Odiakosa's free throw with 8:08 left as the Redbirds had everything going their way.

"It is difficult to play with a big lead. It is," said Jankovich. "You just want to feel like everything is OK and keep the clock running. You lose that edge and get out of the attack mode.

"They had not pressed very much this year. I did a poor job getting us ready for it. I need to take some credit for what you saw. They were running a soft press back to zone. At the same time, usually non-pressing teams press late when they need to catch up. They had to do it earlier, and I promise you I did not anticipate a 19-point lead with seven minutes to go."

Cincinnati began a late rally as its full-court pressure forced a couple turnovers. Vaughn's 3-point play cut the gap to 46-35 with 6:47 left. He later sank a 5-footer in the lane to get his team within 52-45.

The Bearcats had a chance to get within four, but Larry Davis missed a wide-open 3-pointer with 2:35 left. Warren sank one of two free throws to cut ISU's lead to 52-46 with 1:56 left before Johnson's 3-pointer, his first of the game after missing four misses, clinched the victory.

"That was a step-up and courage shot. Good players have courage," said Jankovich. "That's one of the most ingredients any athlete can have. I love the fact he stepped up. He's not been shooting well this year. But he wanted the shot and took it. I love that mentality."

Johnson, who guarded Vaughn much of the game, said there was no panic on the court for the Redbirds when the lead was dwindling.

"We were confident we had the lead and were going to win. It was a matter of getting stops on defense," he said. "They had a couple possessions where they scored four or times. We were just worried about getting stops."

ISU won't be home again for almost a month until entertaining Missouri Valley Conference favorite Southern Illinois Jan. 5. Between now and then are four road games. ISU is 0-3 away from home this season and have lost 28 of their last 32 on the road.

"If we just take with us the intensity we get from the home crowd away and use everything we have here and use it away we'll beat every team, no problem," said Eldridge. "But if we don't we might have some problems on the road."

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ISU report card

FRONT COURT: B+

Anthony Slack got inside and helped ISU extend its lead in second half before fouling out. Redbirds neu-tralized Adam Hrycaniuk much of game.

BACK COURT: A-

Osiris Eldridge again proved to be the best player on the floor. ISU's tag-team defense on Bearcat leading scorer Deonta Vaughn was the key to the game.

BENCH: B

Levi Dyer hit a couple 3-pointers early to shake up Cincinnati's defense. Emmanuel Holloway is showing he deserves more playing time.

OVERALL: B+

The Redbirds had Cincinnati reeling and let the Bearcats get dangerously close in what should have been a rout. Still, a win is a win over a Big East team.