Illini Down Nicholls State, SIUE Wins Opener

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Andres Feliz scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Illinois beat Nicholls State 78-70 in overtime on Tuesday in a season opener for both teams.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 21, Giorgi Bezhanishvili added 11 points, and freshman big man Kofi Cockburn had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Fighting Illini.

Nicholls State was led by Dexter McClanahan's game-high 25 points. Elvis Harvey Jr. added 16 points for the Colonels.
Illinois was up 30-19 at the half and led by 20 points early in the second half before going cold. Nicholls State went on an 16-0 run late in regulation to take a 66-64 lead in the final minute. Meanwhile, the Illini went the final five minutes of regulation without a field goal.

"I thought we were outplayed tonight," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "We just weren't mentally tuned in. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled we won the game. But we'll do better next time."

NEVER TOO LATE

Down 66-64 after Harvey's two free throws with less than two minutes left, the usually hot-handed Trent Frazier scored his first points of the game, sinking two free throws to send the game to overtime.

"It was obviously a tough game tonight," Frazier said. "I just have to find a way to help us win."

Illinois finally warmed up in the extra frame, with Feliz hitting two field goals and two free throws to seal the victory.

"I'm a team guy," Feliz said. "And I'm going to do what the team wants and needs."

THE BIG MEN

Giorgi Bezhanishvili (6-foot-9) and Cockburn (7-0) provide considerable height and strength under the basket, but Underwood wants more.

"There should be collisions under that rim, like freight trains, with those two in there," Underwood said. "We had some of that tonight, but we need more."

The pair combined for 21 points and 18 rebounds Tuesday.

"They'll get there," Underwood said. "It's just a matter of time."

CHARITY STRIPE

Illinois won the game at the free-throw line, sinking 19 of 29 to the Colonels' 8-of-9 effort.
"I couldn't be happier about our free throws," Underwood said. "Given our past there, I thought we did a nice job at the line when it counted."

UP NEXT

Illinois: The Illini begin a two-game road trip against Grand Canyon on Friday before facing No. 21 Arizona on Sunday.

ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES

TEAM NOTES

• Illinois opened its 115th season of men's basketball on Tuesday night. After tonight's victory, the Fighting Illini have all-time record of 101-14 (.878) in season openers.

• The Illini are 35-2 all-time (.945) when starting the season at State Farm Center, which includes an active streak of 23 straight wins when opening the year at SFC.

• Tonight marked the first-ever meeting between Illinois and Nicholls State. After tonight's win, the Illini are undefeated (6-0) all-time record against current members of the Southland Conference.

• Illinois pulled down 53 rebounds, its most in a game since grabbing 54 boards December 28, 2007 against Loyola (MD).

• The Illini's 20 offensive rebounds were their most since they hauled in 27 against Longwood on December 13, 2017.

• Tuesday's game was Illinois' first season opener to go to overtime since November 10, 1998, a 75-73 loss to Wake Forest at Madison Square Garden.

• The Illini outrebounded the Colonels by 30, its largest margin since outrebounding Savannah State by 31 on Novemer 21, 2006

• Illinois shot 100% from the floor in overtime (3-3) and 85.7% from the free throw line (6-7).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• True-freshman Kofi Cockburn started the game, marking three straight seasons in which a true freshman has started the Illini's season opener. (Mark Smith in 2017, Ayo Dosunmu and Giorgi Bezhanishvili in 2018). 

• Making his Illinois debut, Kofi Cockburn scored 10 points and reeled in 11 rebounds, the first double-double by an Illini freshman in a season opener since Efrem Winters had 17 points and 10 rebounds on November 26, 1982.

• Senior guard Andres Feliz notched his second career double-double with 23 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. His other double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds came against Northwestern on 3/3/19.

• Kofi Cockburn and Andres Feliz became the first pair of Illini with season-opening double-doubles since Mike Thorne and Malcolm Hill on November 13, 2015 vs. North Florida.

• Sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu had his eigth career 20-point game, finishing with 21 points and seven recbounds. 

• Four Illinois players scored in double figures – Andres Feliz (23), Ayo Dosunmu (21), Giorgi Bezhanishvili (11),  & Kofi Cockburn (10)

• Two players made their Fighting Illini debuts – true freshmen Kofi Cockburn and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk.

SIUE Season Opener Successful

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE made its men's basketball season opener a successful one Tuesday at the First Community Arena in the Vadalabene Center.

Cam Williams made certain of that. The Cougars' sophomore scored a team-best 17 points to guide SIUE past Quincy, 61-52. He tallied 11 of the Cougars' 27 points in the second half to provide first-year Head Coach Brian Barone with a memorable first victory.
"I'm proud of Cam with what he's done…beyond basketball," Barone said. "I love the way he communicates and the guys listen to him. "We believe in him and he can do it all."

The Cougars also used a stout defense to build a 16-point lead in the first half and they owned a 34-22 lead at the break. Quincy battled back in the second half and closed to within 52-50 with 4:27 remaining. Yet the Cougars outscored the Hawks 9-2 down the stretch, with Williams, a 6-foot, 2-inch sophomore from St. Louis, sinking four key free throws.

"We made our run in the first half because of our defense," Barone said. "We stuck to our game plan almost the entire first half. Our plan was to keep them out of the paint and we did that."

He noted, "In the second half, we didn't do that quite as effectively but at the end of the day we did what we needed to do."
Williams' highlight reel also included a four-point play to help the Cougars open a 34-18 advantage – their largest lead – late in the first half. He also contributed a steal and subsequent slam dunk with six minutes remaining to give SIUE a 52-45 lead.

So what did he enjoy the most?

"I was proud of my leadership and having us get the win," Williams said. "I want to keep our confidence up and bring my teammates together."

A stifling defense kept SIUE in control of things the first half. Quincy made only one shot in the first 10 minutes and just five – all 3-pointers—in the first 20 minutes. Overall, the Hawks made only 15 of 45 shots, or just 33 percent. They were 9-for-29 on 3-pointers.
Mike Adewunmi added to the Cougars' cause by contributing 11 points and seven rebounds. Anselm Uzuegbunem pitched in seven points and five rebounds. Tyresse Williford had five assists.

"Mike is who he is and what he did tonight is what he's capable of doing," Barone said. "He's very versatile."

The Cougars made 23 of 59 shots, including 5 of 16 from 3-point range. They also converted 10 of 15 free throws and outrebounded Quincy 38-34. The Hawks' Jonah Smith logged 18 points to lead all scorers. Smith connected on a pair of free throws to get cut SIUE's lead to 52-50 before the Cougars took command of things in the final three minutes.

SIUE travels to Iowa on Friday for an 8 p.m. start in Iowa City, then they return home on Tuesday, Nov. 12 for a 7 p.m. date with Valparaiso of the Missouri Valley Conference.

"We're looking forward to playing at Iowa and it's going to be a huge game for us," Barone said. "We believe in ourselves."