Illini Beat Nebraska 86-70; SIUE Men Win, EIU Women Clinch Tourney Spot

By Brendan Ross

FightingIllini.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois Fighting Illini beat Nebraska 86-70 on Thursday night at the State Farm Center. The Illini were led by freshman Andre Curbelo's 10 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and sophomore Kofi Cockburn's 24 points and seven rebounds.

The game started off slow, with each team struggling to score for the first ten minutes. Illinois never trailed in the first half, propelled by 16 points from freshman Adam Miller on 7-of-11 shooting. They eventually took a 36-28 advantage into the locker room.

Out of the break, the Orange and Blue stayed ahead for the remainder of the night and cruised to their 13th conference win of the season on senior night in Champaign. The game was scrappy throughout, with six total technical fouls, but the Illini stayed disciplined and won their final home game of the 2020-21 season.

Senior Trent Frazier finished with seven points and senior Da'Monte Williams added eight points, seven rebounds and four steals. Senior Zach Griffith made his first career start and contributed two rebounds.

FRESHMAN PHENOMS

Curbelo and Miller took advantage of junior Ayo Dosunmu sitting this game out due to a broken nose. Miller finished with 18 points and four rebounds while Curbelo flirted with a triple-double, ending up two assists short.

DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING

Illinois dominated the glass, outrebounding the Cornhuskers by a margin of 43-29 with twelve coming on the offensive end. Their defense was tenacious, forcing Nebraska into 17 turnovers and grabbing eight total steals.

NEXT UP

Illinois is back in action on Saturday, February 27 against Wisconsin. Tip-off will be at 1:00 p.m. CT in Madison, Wisc. and will be broadcasted on ESPN.

NOTES

Seniors Da'Monte Williams and Trent Frazier were joined in the starting lineup by classmate Zach Griffith, who made his first career start on the Illini Senior Night. 

Sophomore Kofi Cockburn reached double digits for the 21st time this season and the 45th of his career with 24 points – including an 8-for-10 mark at the free throw line – to go along with seven rebounds. 

Cockburns's eight made free throws is his highest since going 9-for-13 at Penn State on Jan. 19.

Cockburn's 24 points marks his eighth 20-point game and 13th of his career. 

At 17.7 ppg and 10.0 rpg overall, Cockburn is one of just three players from the high-major conferences currently averaging a double-double. He is on pace to become the first Illini player since Nick Weatherspoon in 1973 (25.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg) to average a double-double for an entire season.

Kofi Cockburn was 8-for-10 shooting (80%). Cockburn has shot 60.0% or better in 17 games this season, which is tied for second-most in the nation.

Freshman Andre Curbelo came within two assists of the Illini's third triple-double in six games with his first-career double-double with 10 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and eight assists. 

It is the ninth game that Curbelo has recorded 5+ assists and fifth game with 7+ assists. 

Freshman Adam Miller turned in his 10th double-digit scoring effort with 18 points.

Redshirt-junior Jacob Grandison posted a season-high 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting, including a career-high 6-for-7 mark at the free throw line, while adding seven rebounds. 

Senior DaMonte Williams tied a career-high with four steals. He has recorded four steals on three occasions, with the last time coming against Georgetown on Nov. 13, 2018.

Illinois held Nebraska to 44.3% shooting (27-61). Illinois has held 12 of its last 14 opponents to less than 45% shooting. Since the loss to Ohio State, Illini foes are shooting a combined 43.0% over the last seven games (260-605). 

Illinois is 15-1 this season when holding teams to less than 45% shooting. 

Illinois outrebounded the Huskers, 43-29 for a +14 rebounding margin.

Illinois had a 46-32 advantage in points in the paint, a 16-2 edge in fast break points and a 12-4 advantage in second chance points.  

Illinois converted 22-of-29 free throws, with its 22-made free throws a season high in State Farm Center and the most free throws made in a conference game at home since March 3, 2019 vs. Northwestern. 

Illinois finishes its 2020-21 home slate with a 11-2 record in State Farm Center.

SIUE 66, UT Martin 53

DWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Lamar and Shamar Wright accounted for half of SIUE's scoring Thursday as SIUE took a step closer to postseason play with a 66-53 win over UT Martin at First Community Arena.

SIUE improved to 7-11 in Ohio Valley Conference play and 9-15 overall, surpassing its win total from a season ago. The win snapped a season-long five-game losing streak for the Cougars. UT Martin fell to 7-16 overall and 5-14 in the OVC.

"Our guys came out and set the tone early," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said.

SIUE seized control with a double digit first-half run. UT Martin led 13-12 at the going to a media timeout with 14"16 left before halftime. The Cougars responded with an 11-0 run to lead 23-13 9:04 left in the half.

SIUE led 33-26 with time running out in the period when Desmond Polk lined up for a three-pointer in the corner. He was fouled and awarded three free throws. He hit two of three to give SIUE a 35-26 lead at the break.

SIUE opened the second half with a 12-2 run and had its biggest lead of the game at 47-28 with 15:33 to play. The Cougars would go up 19 again at 52-33.

Lamar Wright earned his first career double-double with career highs in points (16) points and rebounds (10) rebounds.  

"Lamar was a beast," Barone said. "He was all over the place. It was good to see him get the double-double that is big time."

Shamar Wright scored 17 points and was 6-9 from the field. It is the ninth time in 11 games that he has finished in double figures.

"Shamar started off really well," Barone said. "He had an attack mindset from the beginning."

Mike Adewunmi scored 16 points and finished a rebound shy of a double-double.

"Mike is the consummate senior," Barone added. "Every day he has brought it. He has had the right attitude. He has a passion and a business-like mentality."
Desmond Polk added a career-high 10 points.

"Desmond is just scratching the surface," Barone said of the freshman. "I told him after the Eastern Illinois game that I was playing him and he has responded ever since."

SIUE connected on 49 percent (21-43) of its shots and outrebounded UT Martin 35-28.

Jaron Williams scored 20 points to lead the Skyhawks, who shot just 39 percent from the field.

SIUE can clinch a spot in next week's OVC Tournament with an Eastern Illinois loss to Southeast Missouri Thursday night.

"To a certain extent this was a must-win game," Barone added. "I know there are several scenarios, but the reality is we needed to win this game and we did. We're about playing in big games. This was a big game. I am really proud of our effort."

SIUE concludes the regular season Saturday when Southeast Missouri comes to First Community Arena. 

SIUE men's basketball will return to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the first time since 2019. The Cougars clinched their spot with a win Thursday over UT Martin and a loss by Eastern Illinois.

"I am so proud for these guys," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "The guys in this locker room right now have given everything to this program. They have truly embraced our 'Find-A-Way' mentality. With all that was asked of this team this year, this is an accomplishment."

The Cougars (9-15 overall, 7-11 OVC) will be either the No. 7 seed or the No. 8 in the tournament which begins Wednesday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

SIUE concludes the regular season Saturday at First Community Arena against Southeast Missouri. The winner of the game will be the No. 7 in the tournament, while the loser will be the No. 8 seed.

EIU Women Clinch Tournament Spot

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois (11-13, 9-10 OVC) defeated the Southeast Missouri Redhawks (14-10, 12-7 OVC), 65-57 Thursday evening. The Panthers were led by an outstanding run in the third quarter, including a 24-6 run. The Panthers were led in scoring by Lariah Washington, which ties her season-high, which came previously against SEMO. With this victory, the Panthers were able to clinch a berth in the OVC Tournament. Eastern Illinois will face the top team in the OVC in UT Martin at Lantz Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m. 

QUICK STATS 

Lariah Washington tied her season-high 24 points.

Parker Stafford netted a career-high 8 points in today's game.

The Panthers recorded 14 steals and forced the Redhawks into 22 turnovers.

The Panthers held SEMO's bench scoreless in the game.

The last time the Panthers held a team's bench scoreless was against SEMO in January.

Twenty-eight points in a quarter tied the most points scored in a quarter this season by the Panthers (Western Illinois).

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER

The Panthers sputtered out of the jump. Eastern Illinois was only able to muster up 6 points in the early quarter. Washington was able to lead the team with 4, along with Stafford, who had 2. The Panthers had their inside presence altered in the early goings by SEMO's star center Latrese Saine. Saine ended the quarter with four blocks. The Redhawks led the Panthers 11-6 going into the second quarter.

Eastern Illinois started to find their groove in the second quarter and managed to score 13 points in the quarter. The Redhawks continued to apply pressure in an attempt to run away with the lead. SEMO's Terri Smith caught fire from deep, hitting a couple of 3-pointers to give the Redhawks a 25-19 lead. 

Out of the break, the Panthers started slow but hit their stride at the 6-minute mark. The Panthers defensive pressure allowed the offense to flow with ease.

Eastern Illinois put up an astronomical 28 points in the quarter. The run was led by Washington, who finished with 14 points in the quarter. The Panthers had taken the lead for the first time with no signs of letting up. EIU led SEMO 47-37.

Eastern Illinois held the lead with a combined effort. Washington, Wahl, and Pace scored a combined 14 of the Panthers 18 points in the quarter. Smith of the Redhawks continued to knock down deep shots, but the Panthers' lead was too much to overcome. With tonight's 65-57 win over SEMO, the Panthers have clinched their second consecutive OVC Tournament appearance. This is the first time the Panthers have been to back-to-back OVC Tournaments since the 2014-2015 seasons.