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Coach
John Groce
and the Fighting Illini basketball team welcomed a capacity crowd of 300 fans to the Ubben Basketball Practice Facility on Sunday afternoon for the second annual #ILLINIALLIN.
Fans were selected to attend this exclusive event by completing a self-nomination ballot online. Those in attendance got a courtside or balcony view of the team as it competed in a series of three eight-minute scrimmages. Prior to the scrimmage, fans were served lunch and participated in a Q&A session with point guard Tracy Abrams and former Illini stars Dee Brown and Jerry Hester. The event concluded with an autograph session where fans had their posters signed and took photos with the players and Coach Groce. Those not in attendance were able to watch the scrimmage in its entirety via a livestream online at FightingIllini.com.
The scrimmage consisted of three periods, with each period contested as its own game. The rosters changed each period, giving the coaching staff a look at a number of different lineups and allowing some players the opportunity to play different positions over the course of the scrimmage.
In the first period, the Blue team of Jaylon Tate, Mike LaTulip, Aaron Jordan, Michael Finke and Maverick Morgan posted a 17-13 victory over the Orange team of Khalid Lewis, Alex Austin, D.J. Williams, Malcolm Hill and Mike Thorne Jr. Austin led all scorers in the opening stanza, totaling nine points, while LaTulip had five.
In the second period, the Orange team of Tate, Jordan, Hill, Finke and Thorne recorded a 21-7 win over the Blue team of Lewis, LaTulip, Austin, Williams and Morgan. Hill and Thorne had eight points apiece to lead Orange to victory.
The third and final period saw the Blue team of LaTulip, Jordan, Austin, Hill, Thorne and sub Jerel Pitts earn an 18-10 win over the Orange team of Tate, Lewis, Williams, Finke, Morgan and sub Cameron Liss. Thorne continued his strong play with eight points while Finke and Jordan each had six.
Thorne led all scorers on the day, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He recorded a double-double, also grabbing a team-high 15 rebounds. Four other Illini joined Thorne in double figures. Finke had 12 points and five boards, LaTulip netted 11, Hill had 10 points and eight boards, and Tate added 10. As a team the Illini shot nearly 44 percent from the field (31-71) and 35 percent from 3-point range (9-26) while knocking down 75 percent at the line (15-20).
The Fighting Illini continue preseason practice over the next two weeks in preparation for a Nov. 8 exhibition game vs. Illinois-Springfield. Illinois basketball tickets can be purchased online at FIGHTINGILLINI.com or by calling 1-866-ILLINI-1.
