Alabama Bounces Illinois In NIT Tourney, EIU Wins

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- Levi Randolph had 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists to help Alabama rout Illinois 79-58 on Tuesday in the first round of the NIT.

Alabama (19-14) played its first game without head coach Anthony Grant, who was fired Sunday afternoon and replaced by interim coach John Brannen.

''We were playing for more than just ourselves tonight,'' Brannen said. ''This is coach Grant's program as I've mentioned many times. He's asked us to carry it on in terms of going forward and we're going to do that to the best of our abilities.''

Alabama shot 59.6 percent from the field overall, including 8 of 15 from 3-point range. Rodney Cooper added 19 points.

Malcolm Hill led Illinois (19-14) with 22 points and six assists. The Fighting Illini shot 32.3 percent from the field, including just 7 of 24 from beyond the arc, and were nearly run out of the building early.

Alabama went on a 20-0 run in the first half, holding Illinois scoreless for eight minutes. Alabama shot 63 percent from the field in the first half, knocking in 17 of 27. The Tide shot 50 percent from 3-point range on the way to a 46-22 halftime lead and they stretched the lead to as many as 30 points in the second half.

''We use the term and we used it with coach here that we just want to keep punching and eventually your opponent will eventually wear down,'' Brannen said. ''Every timeout that came, I said, 'Guys, they ain't wearing down yet so we need to continue.'''

Illinois shot 31.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and 16.7 percent from beyond the arc. Coach John Groce had publicly worried about the motivation of his team this week a year after playing in the NIT and just a few days after a slow start cost them dearly in a 73-55 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament.

The Illini had no answers for Alabama and lost for the sixth time in eight games.

''I thought they were inspired today,'' Groce said. ''I thought that they had a cause today, and I thought they came out with a chip on their shoulder today. I thought their effort level, their energy level, in particular the majority of the first half, but I think the first eight minutes was outstanding so give them a lot of credit.''

EIU 97, Oakland 91

ROCHESTER, Mich. -- Eastern Illinois won its first postseason game as an NCAA Division I school on Tuesday night with 97-91 win at Oakland in the opening round of the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).  EIU held on for the win after leading by as many as 17 points late in the second half.

EIU improved to 18-14 and will find out its second round CIT opponent later in the week.  Oakland finished the season at 16-17 as EIU snapped an 11-game home winning streak by the Golden Grizzlies in the O'rena.

Oakland and Eastern Illinois traded baskets early with Dante Williams providing offense for Oakland while the Panthers had a balanced offensive attack.

EIU took its first lead with 8:22 to play in the first as Trae Anderson hit a 3-pointer giving EIU a 22-20 lead.  It was one of nine first half 3-pointers hit by the Panthers as they shot 50 percent (9-of-18) in the opening 20 minutes.  EIU finished the game shooting 15-of-31 from beyond the arc.

The Panthers extended the lead to eight points as Dylan Chatman converted a three point play and knocked down a 3-pointer with 7:06 to play as Chatman had nine first half points.  The senior finished with 17 points.

NIT Tournament Scores

Miami (FL) 75, N.C. Central 71

George Washington 60, Pittsburgh 54

Rhode Island 88, Iona 75

Louisiana Tech 89, Central  Michigan 79

Tulsa 70, Williams & Mary 67

Murray State 81, UTEP 66

Texas A&M 81, Montana 64

Stanford 77, UC Davis 64