Nichols Guides Illini To Win, Greenville Sets Record with 200-146 victory

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Kipper Nichols scored 18 points and the Illinois defense clamped down to lead the Fighting Illini to a 71-64 win over Nebraska Saturday at State Farm Center. It was the Cornhuskers' fifth straight defeat.

Ayo Dosunmu added 13 points and Trent Frazier scored 11 for Illinois (7-15, 3-8 Big Ten).

The Huskers were cold from the field all afternoon, hitting 25 of 70 for 36 percent, compared to Illinois' 27 of 56 shooting for 48 percent.

Illinois lead by as many as 15 points late in the game, but Nebraska pulled within nine points before Illinois held on the for the win.

The Illini kept pace with the Huskers the first half, after jumping out to a 7-0 lead. The final five minutes of the half saw Frazier and Nichols take over for the Illinois offense. Frazier hit two 3-pointers and Nichols one to give Illinois a 38-29 lead at the half.

The Huskers seemed out of sync from the opening tip and shot only 32 percent from the field the first half, compared to 47 percent for Illinois.

Illinois made 9-of-23 free throws (39 percent), its worst free-throw percentage since a 2012 win over Georgia Tech.

Nebraska shot 11-of-21 from the line (52 percent).

James Palmer Jr. scored a game-high 22 points for Nebraska (13-9, 3-8), while Thomas Allen added 11. The Huskers are without second-leading scorer Isaac Copeland, who averaged 14 points per game, due a torn ACL.

Up Next: The Fighting Illini continue their three-game homestand on Tuesday when No. 6 Michigan State comes to State Farm Center (6 pm CT on ESPN2).

ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES

Team Notes

• Saturday's game marked the 23rd all-time meeting between Illinois and Nebraska, with the Illini leading the all-time series, 15-8. The Illini are 10-2 all-time against Nebraska at home.

• The teams split the season series 1-1. Nebraska beat the Illini 75-60 in Lincoln in December. The Illini beat the Huskers 72-66 at the State Farm Center last season.

• The Illinois offense got off to a strong start, opening the game on a 7-0 run on its way to a 38-29 halftime lead.  

• Illinois held Nebraska to just 3-23 (13%) from three, its lowest three-point percentage since Nov. 24, 2015 when the Huskers shot 10.5 percent (2-19) against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

• Illinois led for the final 29:05 of the game, by at least seven points the entire second half, and as many as 15 (44-29 at 16:57 of second half).

• The Illini held a 36-4 edge in bench points, led by Kipper Nichols' 18 points.

Individual Notes

• Junior Kipper Nichols tied a season-high with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, breaking out of a five-game scoreless slump. He also led the team with six rebounds and hit 2-of-3 from behind the arc after after making just one of his last 22 attempts from downtown dating back to December 15.

Greenville 200, Fontbonne University 146

Setting numerous Division III records, Greenville downed Fontbonne University 200-146 in Saturday action.

Eric Williams scored 38 and Marvin Bateman 37 for Greenville. They were one point shy of the NCAA Division III record set by Lincoln, Pa. in 2006.

But they established other records including -- combined points by two teams 346, combined rebounds by two teams 136, combined assists by two teams 82, field goal attempts by one team, Greenville with 154 and three-point attempts by one team, Greenville 91.

This game came after Greenville had beaten MacMurray 167-145 in overtime in action Thursday.

SIUE 88, Eastern Kentucky 82 (2OT)

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – For the fifth time this season, SIUE had to work extra time Saturday night, and the Cougars didn't mind doing it.

They outlasted Eastern Kentucky 88-82 in a double overtime thriller at the Vadalabene Center. SIUE, which has won three of its last four games, improved to 8-14 overall and 4-6 in the OVC. Eastern Kentucky dropped to 10-13 and 3-7.

"It was a huge win and we just persevered," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "I can't say enough about these guys. They have been so strong and consistent with their approach to what we are doing."

Tyresse Willford scored 27 points to power the Cougars, while Brandon Jackson contributed 25 points. David McFarland added 17 points, including a three-pointer to knot the score at 69-69 with 9.4 seconds remaining in regulation. It was tied 78-78 after the first overtime before the Cougars outscored the Colonels 10-4 in the decisive five-minute second OT.

"It was an important win because we hit the road next week for two games," said Williford, who was 10-for-14 at the foul line. It marked the fifth time this season he made at least 10 free throws in the game.

Williford added, "Basically it was a 'must' win for us and it will help us get some momentum going. I think this win was sweeter than our other overtime win."

The Cougars played their fifth overtime game of the season and won their second in row. The first three were single OT contests prior to SIUE winning a triple overtime affair at Southeast Missouri.

"It was a big weekend for us and we have some momentum going," Harris said.

SIUE posted its first sweep of the OVC season after defeating Morehead State 83-76 on Thursday.

The Cougars survived Nick Mayo's 33 points for Eastern Kentucky and seeing the Colonels erase a 36-20 first-half deficit. SIUE led 37-22 at the break. Mayo fouled out in the second overtime.

"We played high-level defense in the first half and executed our game plan," Harris said. "Our confidence continues to grow and we need to keep doing what we are supposed to do."

He said that McFarland's three-pointer from the corner that tied the game before the end of regulation was a designed play.

"We did a good job of executing that play," Harris said. "Then when Nick Mayo fouled out, that changed the course of the game."

McFarland also sank two free throws with 33.4 seconds remaining in the first overtime to knot things at 78. In the second OT, he made a pair of foul shots with 17.1 seconds to go in giving the Cougars a six-point advantage. Christian Ellis, who collected 11 rebounds, six assists and six points, sank a pivotal basket with 33.2 left in the second overtime to push SIUE's lead to 86-82.

So the Cougars had a lot of contributors, including Anselm Uzuegbunem with a career-best 13 rebounds and Elochukwu Eze with stout defense, Harris said.

"He came through big for us tonight," Harris added.

Eze said, "We stayed disciplined when we needed to do it and that's why we won."

Jackson had three dunks in making 10 of 16 shots. The Cougars made 26 of 67 field-goal attempts, were 4 of 22 from three-point range and converted 28 of 44 free throws. They outrebounded Eastern Kentucky 57-43.

"I got into some open spots and was able to hit my shots," Jackson said.

The Cougars travel to Austin Peay on Thursday and then play next Saturday, Feb, 9 at Murray State.

Morehead State 84, EIU 78

CHARLESTON, Ill. – For the second straight game Eastern Illinois received solid contributions from players on its bench.  Unfortunately on Saturday afternoon against Morehead State it wasn’t enough as the Panthers lost 84-78 in Lantz Arena.

EIU fell to 13-10 on the season, 6-4 in the OVC.  The Panthers will now play five of their next six conference games on the road with the lone home game on Feb. 16 against Southeast Missouri.  MSU improved to 9-14 overall, 5-5 in the OVC.

Morehead State opened the game with a quick 4-0 run only to see Eastern Illinois answer with a 16-0 run of its own.  Six different players scored for the Panthers in the run with Mack Smith and Josiah Wallace both knocking down 3’s.

The Eagles would eventually trim that 12 point deficit down to one point with 5:36 to play in the first before the Panthers closed out the half with a four point lead, 38-34.

A quick spurt by the Panthers to open the second half extended the lead to nine points on a Wallace lay-up with 16:04 to play which staked EIU to a 47-38 lead.

A.J. Hicks would give Morehead State its first lead of the second half at the 10:29 mark as the two teams then traded the lead five times with three ties over the next nine minutes.

EIU would go up by five during that time frame on a Mack Smith 3-pointer at 5:01.  Playing behind for the next four minutes the Eagles tied the game on a De’Von Cooper bucket with 1:38 to play.

The Panthers would turn the ball over on the next possession which resulted in a 3-pointer by James Baker with 1:02 to play.  Another turnover by EIU following the three allowed the Eagles to push it to a two-possession game.  MSU then hit 11-of-12 free throws in the final 42 seconds to seal the win.

EIU would make it exciting with a 3-pointer by Kashawn Charles and four-point play by Wallace that cut Morehead State’s lead down to three points with six second remaining.  Charles had a team-high 19 points off the bench for EIU.  Wallace added 16.

Ben Harvey and Mack Smith rounded out the EIU double figure scorers.  Smith had 16 and Harvey 11.  EIU’s bench players scored 37 points on the night.

Jordan Walker led all players with 30 points hitting 6-of-7 at the foul line late in the game and making 10-of-19 from the floor.  Baker had 15 points.

Morehead State 67, EIU Women 57

CHARLESTON, Ill. --  Eastern Illinois women's basketball fell 67-57 Saturday afternoon to the Eagles of Morehead State. The Panthers felt the Eagles pressure defense committing 22 turnovers leading to 24 points for MSU. The Panthers fall to 9-12 overall, and 3-7 in the OVC. The Eagles improve to 17-6 overall and 8-2 in the OVC.

The Panthers made it a competitive first quarter forcing three lead changes. The Eagles led by 6 points with 1:44 left in the first ten minutes, but Abby Wahl would lead EIU on a 5-2 run to close the first quarter bringing the Panthers within four points.

MSU closed the half on a 17-4 run over the final 8:40 of the second quarter. The led 37-25 heading into the break.

The Eagles would continue their offensive momentum into the third quarter making it a 14-0 run. The Panthers responded with their own 17-4 run to close the quarter. Kira Arthofer and Karle Pace scored back-to-back three pointers for EIU narrowing MSU's lead 49-44 to end the quarter.

Despite their third quarter offensive effort, the Panthers would fall 67-57 to the Eagles.

In addition to dominating points off turnovers, MSU outscored EIU 38-14 in the paint and 14-5 on the fast break. Four players finished in double-figures for the Eagles. Miranda Crockett had a team-high 16 points and grabbed six boards. Crystal Simmons-Cozar added 14 points, five boards, and five assists. Mckenzie Calvert tallied 12 points, six rebounds, and six steals, while Tierra McGowan finished with 10 points and 8 boards.

The Panthers shot 52.9 percent from the arc led by Pace who was 5-of-7 with a game high 21 points. Grace Lennox added eight points and finished with a season-high eight assists. Abby Wahl finished with seven points and six rebounds, while Grace McRae had seven boards off the bench.

EIU travels to Murray State on Thursday Feb. 7 for a 5 pm tip-off. This is the first of three straight games on the road for EIU.