Illini shoot down upset bid

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It took longer than most people probably thought, but Illinois was finally able to put the expected whipping on Southeast Missouri State.

The Redhawks hung tough with sixth-ranked Illinois in the first half, before the heavily favored Illini ran away to an 89-64 victory in front of a sellout crowd (16,618) at Assembly Hall on Wednesday night.

"They are really a good team. I mean, they are very impressive. They're good in all phases of the game," Southeast coach Gary Garner said. "I thought we gave a really good effort. They just wore us down."

Illinois improved to 13-0, giving the Illini the most wins in the nation this season. They pushed their home winning streak to 28 games -- third-best in the nation -- and have now posted 45 consecutive nonconference home victories.

"They have a real good team, and they're deep," said Southeast senior guard Roy Booker, who led all scorers with 26 points. "I was really impressed with them."

The Redhawks (4-7) also had their moments, mainly during a first half that turned competitive when it looked like it might not be.

The Illini scored the game's first nine points, and Southeast had only five points in the first 9 1/2 minutes -- all by Booker -- while falling behind 20-5. It appeared as if the anticipated blowout might come early.

But Southeast used an 11-0 run -- seven points came from Booker, who had 12 of their first 16 points -- to pull within 20-16.

When senior center Ketshner Guerrier scored on a jump hook with 3:52 remaining in the period, Southeast found itself behind just 27-24.

"They came out and did a good job," Illinois senior All-American guard Dee Brown said. "Teams come out and give us their best shot. They play hard against us."

Brown, one of the nation's most electrifying players, helped revive the Illini and pave the way for a second-half romp.

After missing six of his first seven shots, Brown made his final two of the half -- on a driving layup with 31 seconds remaining that put Illinois ahead 35-27 and on a 40-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer that sent the Illini into the break up 38-29.

"I just threw it up and prayed for it to go in," said Brown, who has hit more than a few similar shots in his brilliant four-year career at Illinois. "It was just big momentum for us before halftime."

Said Illinois coach Bruce Weber, who led the Illini to a national runner-up finish and 37-2 record last year: "I thought the first half we had a great start. They outscored us the last 14 minutes. That didn't make us feel very good."

The Illini had reason to feel much better in the second half as they steadily wore down the smaller Redhawks inside.

After Booker's basket and free throw pulled Southeast to within 43-36 early in the final period, Illinois used a 13-2 run to go up 56-38 with less than 15 minutes remaining. The Illini coasted after that.

"We went into the locker room and I thought we could play with them," Booker said. "Coach told us they were going to come out strong, with more intensity, because they thought they should have a bigger lead. I don't think we matched their intensity."

Taking full advantage of a big edge inside, the Illini shot 55.3 percent in the second half, to finish at 50.7 percent for the game. Southeast shot 38.7 percent. Illinois also hit nine of 18 3-pointers, compared to seven of 26 for Southeast.

Illinois outscored Southeast 46-22 in the paint and 20-6 on second-chance points. The Illinois outrebounded the Redhawks 48-24, including 27-10 in the second half.

"We really did a good job on limiting our turnovers, which we thought would be a key, but they're big and strong and they really beat us on the boards," said Garner, whose squad had only nine turnovers, which is roughly half of its season average. "They just wore us down the last 10, 12 minutes. They got a lot of easy baskets."

Brown, who hit his first three shots of the second half after closing the opening period strong, led the Illini with 16 points and five assists.

Freshman guard Jamar Smith hit all four of his 3-point attempts -- he entered the game shooting 55.6 percent from beyond the arc -- and scored 14 points off the bench, as did 6-foot-9 junior reserve forward Warren Carter.

James Augustine, a 6-foot-10 senior forward who joins Brown as the Illini's only returning starters from last year, added 12 points.

"The second half we came out with more intensity," Brown said.

Junior forward Andrais Thornton and junior guard Eric Burtin -- who made his first Southeast start -- both added 10 points for the Redhawks. Sophomore point guard Paul Paradoski had six assists.

"I'm not disappointed in our effort at all," Garner said. "We just got beat by a great basketball team."