Illinois Downs Auburn; College Roundup

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Published on December 31 2012 2:19 pm
Last Updated on December 31 2012 2:19 pm
Written by Millie Lange

CHICAGO -- Tracy Abrams scored 27 points and pulled down eight rebounds, both were career-highs, as Illinois held off Auburn 81-79 at the United Center Saturday aftenroon.

The sophomore Abrams also had five assists, four steals and only one turnover helping the Illini (13-1) bounce back from their first loss of the season to Missouri last week.

Tennessee State 67, Eastern Illinois 59

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Panther men’s basketball team overcame a 19-point deficit to get within four within under a minute left on the clock, but Tennessee State held on for a 67-59 win on Saturday night at the Gentry Center.

After trailing by as much as 19 points with 16:30 left in the game, the Panthers battled back in the second half to get within four (63-59) with 23 seconds on the clock. EIU outscored the Tigers (7-7, 1-0 OVC) by five in the second half, 40-35. The Panthers also connected on 62 percent of their field-goal attempts in the second stanza to engineer the comeback, going 13-for-21 from the field.

Tennessee State jumped out to an early 15-3 lead by draining its first six shot attempts of the game. The Tigers finished the first half going 11-for-21 from the floor to take a 32-19 advantage into the locker room.

Alex Austin paced the Panther offense with 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Taylor Jones also added a career high 14 points, going 5-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-8 from behind the arc. Austin Akers dished out a game-high six assists in the loss.

The Panthers return to action at Eastern Kentucky on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.

Belmont 66, SIU Women 52

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A five-minute scoreless stretch near the end of the game proved to be the difference in SIUE's Ohio Valley Conference opener at Belmont.
 
SIUE and Belmont, the two most recent newcomers to the OVC, met for the first time Saturday at Curb Event Center as the Bruins picked up a 66-52 victory. SIUE fell to 6-7 overall and 0-1 in league play.
 
CoCo Moore shined in her OVC debut with a career-high 17 points. The Cougar freshman from Indianapolis, Ind., shot 7 of 14 from the field in 32 minutes played.
 
Raven Berry was the only other player in double figures for the Cougars. She had 14 points, nine rebounds, and four steals. Michaela Herrod matched her season-high with 13 rebounds.