Illinois Scores 80-52 Win Over Eastern Illinois

A 30-6 Fighting Illini run over an 11-minute stretch between the first and second halves saw the hosts erase a five-point deficit, and they never looked back en route to a 28-point home victory.

True freshman Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn gave the Illini a spark off the bench, recording a game-high 18 points in his first appearance at the college level. Gibbs-Lawhorn also finished his Illinois debut with three rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal while shooting 70% from the field.

Beginning his seventh season at the helm, head coach Brad Underwood used the regular-season opener to give minutes to 13 different players, 12 of whom scored at least one point.

Returners Coleman Hawkins, Ty Rodgers, and Terrence Shannon Jr. all earned a spot in the starting five, while fifth-year transfers Marcus Domask and Quincy Guerrier made their first starts with the Illini to round out Underwood's first starting lineup of the season.
Shannon scored 16 points, his 11th consecutive contest in double figures. Knocking down three 3-pointers, Shannon also tallied five rebounds and a team-high two steals.

Amani Hansberry totaled seven points and a team-high eight rebounds in his first college outing, while Dain Dainja ended his night with eight points, six boards, and one block.
Luke Goode, the first man in off the bench, hit three 3-pointers and grabbed six boards. Playing a team-high 28 minutes, Domask amassed six points, four rebounds, and three assists.

The Illini shot 50% from the field while hitting 10 3-pointers. The Orange and Blue won the rebounding margin, 50-40, and they accumulated 47 bench points and 36 points in the paint.

After falling behind early, the Illini used a 7-0 run over a three-minute stretch to cut their deficit to two. Needing a spark off the bench, Gibbs-Lawhorn provided that boost, accounting for six straight points during a 9-0 Illinois scoring run to give the Orange and Blue the lead with just over seven minutes to play in the first half.

The Illini started to generate some momentum on offense and took advantage to close the opening frame. A 14-2 run, which included seven points from Shannon and a triple from Goode, to close the period sent Illinois into the locker room with a 37-25 edge.

The home side outscored the Panthers, 23-6, over the final nine minutes of play, holding Eastern Illinois without a basket for the final three minutes and knocking down three 3-pointers over the last two minutes. The Illini recorded an assist on seven of their 15 field goals, got 18 points from their bench, and saw 11 different players register minutes in the first half. 

Illinois came out of the break with an edge, opening the second half with a 7-0 run to extend their advantage to 19 points and force an early EIU timeout. After Marcus Domask knocked down his first triple as an Illini, Gibbs-Lawhorn once again ignited a big scoring run. The true freshman scored the first seven points of a 10-0 stretch over a 100-second span, pushing the Illinois lead to 58-31 with 13 minutes to play.

Gibbs-Lawhorn notched five straight Illini points, including his second 3-pointer of the night, to push the lead to a game-high 30 points with six minutes remaining.
Hansberry scored the final six points of the night for the Orange and Blue, sending the Illini to 1-0 on the season with the comfortable home victory.

Illinois returns to State Farm Center on Friday to take on Oakland. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on B1G+.