Illinois Hands Bradley 88-74 Loss

Malcolm Hill scored 22 points to lead Illinois to an 88-74 victory over North Carolina State on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

When Illinois showed signs of faltering like it had in the past, Hill and other role players like Tracy Abrams (17 points) helped secure the win.

"Really proud of the way the guys responded," Illinois coach John Groce said. "We ratcheted it up to another level (in the second half)."

Illinois (5-3) shot 30 of 60 from the field for 50 percent to outlast N.C. State in what was a tightly contested game in which neither team had a double-digit lead until the Illini led 67-57 with about eight minutes left.

The Wolfpack held a 33-32 edge at the half but Illinois came out firing, shooting 68 percent in the second half and creating large leads that the Wolfpack could not overcome.

The Illini bench outscored the Wolfpack's 39-22 and was led by Leron Black, who scored 15 points and brought in eight rebounds.

Black has only played the last three games before Tuesday (suspension) and noted the adaptation it takes to understand how each player performs.

"We just kind of come together each game. We get used to playing with each other," Black said. "We're just getting better as a team and getting more chemistry."

Torin Dorn scored 17 points to lead N.C. State (5-2), which shot 53 percent from the field.

Despite the hot shooting, the Wolfpack committed 19 turnovers, which prevented the offense to consistently produce and resulted in 17 Illinois points.

"The game was experienced versus inexperienced," N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. "I thought we played like an inexperienced team."

For Illinois, the game served as the official dedication game for the renovated State Farm Center, which recently concluded three years of construction upgrades.

Bradley 87, EIU 83

Bradley made 11 of 12 shots at the free throw line in overtime as the Braves knocked off Eastern Illinois, 87-83, on Tuesday night in Lantz Arena.  It was the first visit for the Braves to Charleston since 1919 when the teams played in EIU’s Pemberton Hall Gym.
 
Bradley improved to 4-3.  EIU dropped to 4-3 as the Panthers lost their first home game this season.  EIU returns to action on Sunday at Illinois-Chicago with a 3 p.m. tip.
 
The game ended tied 72-72 at the end of regulation as the Braves came back from down seven points with 4:53 left to play in the game.  EIU led 70-63 after a pair of Cornell Johnston free throws.
 
Bradley cut the lead to one with two baskets by JoJo McGlaston, the second one a three-point play with 3:12 to play.  Casey Teson extended the lead to three points with a jumper at the free throw line with 2:46 to play.   Bradley tied the game with three free throws in the final 1:13, the final two by Darrell Brown with 23 seconds remaining.   EIU had a chance to win the game in regulation but missed on a 3-pointer by Montell Goodwin with two seconds remaining.  EIU ended the night shooting 7-of-28 from 3-point range.
 
In the overtime session Bradley jumped out to a five point lead with McGlaston finishing off a three point play and Koch Bar converting a lay-up with 2:23 to play.  The Braves extended the lead to seven points on four more free throws as they only scored from the foul line in the final two minutes of the game.  McGlaston and Bar both led the Braves with 17 points.  Bar added 14 rebounds for a double-double.
 
EIU trimmed the lead to three points on a jumper by Muusa Dama and 3-pointer by Demetrius McReynolds with 42 seconds left.  Brown then made two free throws to push lead back to double figures as he was one of five Bradley players in double figures with 14 points.   McReynolds led all players with 25 points going 4-of-9 from 3-point range.  Dama finished with a double-double for the Panthers with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Bradley led 41-37 at the half as the Braves shot 60 percent in the opening twenty minutes.  EIU opened the game with hot shooting from McReynolds as his 3-pointer at 12:53 gave EIU a seven point lead at 14-7.  Bradley would come back to lead by as many as eight points in the first half.  McReynolds and Ray Crossland scored the final four points of the half for EIU to cut the lead to four.  Crossland had 19 points.
 
In the second half the Panthers took the lead with a Crossland lay-up with 10:55 to go that put EIU up 53-52.  EIU would hold the lead at two possessions for most of the second half as Bradley scored 11 of its 13 points over a six minute span from the foul line.  The Braves ended the night 24-of-35 from the foul line.
 
EIU forced 24 Bradley turnovers converting those into 29 points.  The Braves were able to stay in the game despite cooling off in the second half with solid rebounding.  Bradley finished the night with 53-30 rebound advantage.