Six Double Figure Performers Guide Illini Past Michigan

By Associated Press

Illinois coach John Groce saw the change he had hoped for from his team Wednesday night in the Illini's 85-69 win over Michigan.

Illinois (12-5, 2-2 Big Ten) changed up its lineup after its 96-80 loss to Indiana on Saturday, its second blowout loss in three games, and the improvements showed as six different players scored in double figures, led by Maverick Morgan with 16 points.

The changes worked for Groce on Wednesday, but the coach stayed away from cementing the lineup when asked if it would continue to succeed.

"(The changes worked) tonight," Groce said. "I think we're going to need everybody, every game and every team is different . tonight it was the best decision for our team to put us in the position to compete tonight."

Much of the offensive success came from the addition of freshmen Kipper Nichols and Te'Jon Lucas into the lineup. The two impressed the coaching staff in Illinois' attempted comeback against Indiana, leading to more playing time.

Nichols had his strongest performance of the season, coming off the bench for 13 points and eight rebounds, helping the Illini to a 30-17 rebounding advantage.

Lucas took advantage of 23 minutes of playing time, leading Illinois' productive offense while also scoring five points and adding eight assists with only one turnover.

Although Morgan didn't know exactly how to describe what the two brought, he said it was a different aura to the team.

"It is hard to explain, it's energy that not everybody can bring," Morgan said. "It gets everyone going."

Illinois outscored Michigan 28-9 off the bench.

The Wolverines had a 4:30 field goal drought and the Illini put together a 17-2 to close the first half for a 49-36 halftime.

Both teams shot better than 60 percent in the first half but the Illini were even better in the second, making 17 of 21 shots, and finished 9 of 14 from 3-point range. Michigan cooled off to 45 percent in the second half but finished 7 of 14 behind the arc.

"The basket is really big when you're playing Michigan right now," Michigan coach John Beilein said.

DJ Wilson led Michigan (11-6, 1-3) with 19 points and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 14 points in an effort where too many Illinois runs and Michigan scoring droughts took the game away from Michigan.

Murray State 92, EIU Women 74

Murray State was able to take advantage of Panther errors Wednesday afternoon as the Eastern Illinois women's basketball team fell to the Racers 92-74. EIU drops to 5-12 and 1-4 in the OVC following the loss while Murray State improves to 11-6 and 3-1 in the conference.

Four Panthers finished the game scoring in double-figures led by Allison Van Dyke who set a new career high with 16 points and recording five rebounds.

EIU finished the game recording 20 turnovers leading to 29 points for Murray State.

Murray State opened the first quarter of Wednesday's game jumping out to a 7-2 lead following a three-pointer from LeAsia Wright at the 7:43 mark. The Panthers answered with a 6-0 run as Van Dyke's layup gave EIU the lead with a layup to make it 8-7 with 5:23 to go in the first period.

Both teams traded buckets throughout the period until the Racers took advantage of Panther turnovers to build a 25-17 lead with a minute left in the quarter. EIU and MSU both finished the first quarter shooting 50 percent from the floor as Murray State led the Panthers 28-22.

The Racers built their lead up to as high as 14 points to open the second quarter as the Panthers did not score their first bucket of the period until the 5:40 mark. The layup from Grace Lennox snapped a 9-1 run for Murray State to bring the score to 37-25 in favor of the Racers. Lennox finished the game with 15 points and five assists.

EIU was able to get within single digits as a three-pointer from Danielle berry capped off a 9-3 run to make it 40-32 with 2:56 left in the half. MSU closed out the half with five points to lead 45-33 at halftime.

The Panthers committed 13 turnovers in the first half half as both teams shot 41 percent from the floor.

The two teams traded buckets throughout the early minutes of the second half, but Murray State was able to maintain their double-digit lead throughout the period pushing it to as high as 19 points. A three-pointer from Zharia Lenoir at the 1:08 mark sent EIU into the fourth quarter trailing Murray State 66-50.

The Panthers did not go away in the fourth quarter matching Murray State shot-for-shot throughout the final period. EIU managed to cut the racer's lead down to single digits as a 6-0 run capped off by free throws from Lenoir made it 77-68 with five minutes to go in the game.

Murray State answered with a quick seven points to regain their double-digit lead and kept the Panthers at bay the rest of the way to earn the win.

Murray State finished the game with four players in double-figures as Wright led all scorers with 24 points followed by Ke'Shunan James who nearly earned a triple-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists.

Erica Brown and Jennifer Nehls were the two other Panthers to score in double-figures netting 14 and 13 points respectively as both Panthers recorded seven rebounds. EIU won the rebound battle against Murray State recording 40 boards to MSU's 34.

The Panthers now return to Lantz Arena for a game against Austin Peay Saturday at 1:30 p.m.