Illini Beat Old Dominion, EIU Downs Milwaukee

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – Alan Griffin scored 15 points and Ayo Dosunmu added 14 and Illinois beat Old Dominion 69-55 on Saturday at State Farm Center.

Seven-foot freshman center Kofi Cockburn scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Illinois (8-3), narrowly missing his seventh double-double.

The Illini led 40-25 at the half, holding the Monarchs scoreless the final 3:21 before the break. Illinois opened the game with a 7-0 run and led 13-4 less. Cockburn was everywhere, blocking shots on one end and dunking the ball on the other. The big man had nine points and three rebounds at the break.

Illinois opened the game with a 7-0 run and another 6-0 spurt before the half. The Illini also ripped off a 7-0 run early in the second half to widen the lead to 51-32 with 10:55 left.

"We had a few mental lapses, which we'll work on in practice," said Illinois coach Brad Underwood. "But overall, I'm happy with our guys' performance."
A.J. Oliver II led Old Dominion (3-8) with a game-high 17 points. Xavier Green added 13 points for the Monarchs. 

UP NEXT

The Illini are off until next Saturday, when they head to St. Louis for the annual Braggin' Rights rivalry game against Missouri (12/21 at noon CT). 

GAME NOTES

Illinois improved to 8-3 on the season and 2-0 all time against Old Dominion. 

Alan Griffin hit 6-of-7 shots for a team-high 15 points. His .857 shooting percentage was a career high (minimum 3 FGA). 

Freshman Kofi Cockburn nearly had his seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and nine rebounds. He already is tied for the Illinois freshman double-doubles record with six. 

With a 5-of-6 performance from the free throw line, Kofi Cockburn has now made 28 of his last 32 foul shots (0.875) after starting the year 17-34 (.500).

Illinois' .900 free throw percentage (18-of-20) was its best of the season and marked just the sixth time since 2010-11 that the Illini had shot 90 percent or better on 20 or more shots.

Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu added 14 points, his 31st career game in double-figures and the eighth time this season. Junior Trent Frazier had a season-high four steals, to go along with nine points and three assists. 

Sophomore guard Tevian Jones made his season debut, playing four minutes.

EIU 75, Milwaukee 68

MILWAUKEE –  Mack Smith hit a dagger of a 3-pointer and free throws by Smith and Marvin Johnson allowed Eastern Illinois to post a 75-68 win at Milwaukee on Saturday night.

EIU improved to 6-4 on the season while Milwaukee fell to 5-6.

After posting a 20-point lead in the first half, Eastern Illinois watched Milwaukee climb back into the game on a couple of occasions.  Milwaukee would use a 15-2 run in the second half as they closed that margin to 60-57.

George Dixon would end that first Milwaukee challenge with a jump shot with 6:38 left in the game.  Dixon posted his fourth double-double of the season finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Milwaukee closed to 64-61 with 2:40 left in the game when Mack Smith hit a 3-pointer to give EIU some breathing room.  Smith would then add a pair of free throws for some insurance. 

Darius Roy hit a pair of 3’s in the final 30-seconds to keep Milwaukee in the game.  Marvin Johnson would be grabbed for an intentional foul after Roy’s second 3-pointer with 18 seconds made it 69-68.  Johnson and Mack Smith closed the game at the line to give EIU the win.
Smith finished with 24 points going 6-of-12 from 3-poinr range. 

Eastern Illinois raced out to an early lead forcing a pair of turnover that led by dunks by Mack Smith and JaQualis Matlock to push EIU to an early 8-3 lead.
EIU would follow that early spurt with a 17-1 run to lead by 20 points at 31-11 on a dunk by Jordan Skipper-Brown.   Mack Smith and Shareef Smith would both drain 3-pointers in the extended run.

Milwaukee chipped away at the lead forcing turnovers and making trips to the free throw line. Milwaukee forced nine turnovers while going 10-of-13 from the foul line in the opening half.  The free throws helped Milwaukee overcome a 28 percent shooting clip in the first half.  Milwaukee ended the night shooting 30 percent from the field and 17-of-23 from the free throw line.

Amir Allen would bring Milwaukee back within single digits with 2:18 to play with a jumper in the lane.  Mack Smith would answer for EIU with his third 3-pointer of the half as he had 11 first-half points as EIU led 46-34.

Roy led Milwaukee with 24 points.  Josh Thomas had 13 points.