HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Sophomore Gregg Alexander scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half as Illinois State shook off a road-trip nightmare to beat cold-shooting Marshall 57-53 on Saturday.

Illinois State (6-18) won on the road for the first time in 11 games this season.

The Redbirds had every reason to lose this one. They arrived at the Cam Henderon Center just two hours before tipoff due to travel problems.

Their flight out of Bloomington, Ill., was delayed by fog Friday night. The team drove to Springfield, Ill., for a flight early Saturday and arrived in Huntington at 11:30 a.m.

Marshall (11-12) played as if it had been the visiting team. The Thundering Herd shot just 28 percent from the floor for the game.

Ronald Blackshear scored 16 points despite turning his ankle, while Marvin Black had 12 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for Marshall.

After starting the year 8-3, the Thundering Herd has dropped nine of their past 12 games.

Illinois State led by five at halftime and started the second half with a 16-5 run for a 43-27 lead with 14:12 remaining.

Blackshear then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 14-2 run to trim the deficit to 45-41 with 9:31 left. Another Blackshear 3-pointer with 6:26 left brought Marshall within 49-48, but the Thundering Herd never retook the lead.

Baboucarr Bojang added 11 points for the Redbirds and Casey Reid scored 10.

A.W. Hamilton had 10 points for Marshall.