Nov. 24, 2002

Recap?|? Final Stats

• Illinois opened its 98th season of basketball with a 90-56 win over Lehigh. Illinois is now 85-13 all-time in season-openers and 33-7 in home-openers at the Assembly Hall. Illinois' last loss in a season-opener was Nov. 10, 1998 in New York City vs. Wake Forest.
• In opening up a 47-24 halftime lead, Illinois played a total of nine players, five of which were freshman. Each of those nine players had at least two points by the intermission and freshman Kyle Wilson led the way with nine first-half points.
• For the game, Illinois played all 10 available players with Nick Huge coming off the bench late in the second half.
• Illinois' five freshmen experienced much success in tonight's opener. Three of those rookies, Dee Brown (14), Deron Williams (12) and Kyle Wilson (14) all scored in double figures. The last time Illinois had three freshmen score in double-figures in a season-opener was during the 1990-91 season when Deon Thomas (21), Scott Pierce (14) and Rennie Clemmons (14) accomplished it vs. American University Nov. 23, 1990.
• As a group, 52 of Illinois' 90 points (58 percent) were scored by freshmen in tonight's
• In addition, 77 of Illinois 90 points (86 percent) were scored by underclassmen.
• Illinois' 90 points this evening were the most points scored by the Illini in a season-
• Illinois' 34-point margin of victory is also the biggest win for Illinois in a season-opener since the 1983-84 season when Illinois defeated Utah 99-65 in Rosemont, Ill.
• Illinois' strong defensive performance in the first half turned a 15-12 Lehigh into an easy victory for Illinois. The Mountain Hawks scored seven buckets in the first 7:26 of the game giving them the three-point advantage, but from that point on the Illini clamped down defensively holding Leigh to just two buckets in the final 12:34 of the first half. During that span, Illinois went on a 35-9 run with five of Lehigh's points coming from the charity stripe.
• Sophomore Roger Powell had a career night, scoring a game and career-high 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Powell scored his points from all over the floor hitting a pair of three-pointers and all-three free throws. Powell also added a career-high nine rebounds on the evening.