Dec. 28, 1999

Box Score

Postgame Audio:
? Coach Kruger
? Bethune Coach Broadnax

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - For Illinois' players, it was a laugher to help them get over a disappointing loss. For coach Lon Kruger, it was a good tuneup for the Big Ten season.

"Bethune-Cookman is not Kansas, but we're more concerned with our play than with the result," Kruger said Tuesday night after Brian Cook and Marcus Griffin each scored 18 points as the 20th-ranked Illini beat Bethune-Cookman 97-47.

Kruger was happy with his team's effort.

"We had a lot of good looks, created by rebounding the ball well," he said. "We had more of the kind of things we talk about in practice. ... From start to finish, it was a solid effort."

Cook said the Illini (7-3) wanted to erase the bad taste of last week's 78-72 loss to Missouri.

"We thought we had something to prove because we didn't fight Missouri as hard as we wanted to," he said.

Bethune-Cookman coach Horace Broadnax said his team was worn down by Illinois.

"They came out and played extremely well," he said. "We dug a hole for ourselves, and it just got deeper."

The Wildcats (2-7), who have lost seven straight, led 7-4 and stayed close until about five minutes left in the first half when the Illini went on a 15-8 run to take a 45-31 halftime lead.

The Illini widened the gap to 60-35 with a 7-0 spurt midway through the second half, then went on a 13-4 run that put them ahead 73-39. The Wildcats were outscored 24-12 in the closing minutes for the final 50-point spread.

Cory Bradford added 16 points, his 25th consecutive double-figure game, for Illinois, while Lucas Johnson had 14 and Frank Williams 12.

Brent King had 12 points and Larry Gilbert added 10 for the Wildcats. Freddie Cole, Bethune-Cookman's leading scorer at 18.9 points a game, was held to seven.

The Illini outrebounded Bethune-Cookman 47-37, were 9-of-20 from 3-point range and had 18 steals. Bethune-Cookman committed 26 turnovers and shot just 31 percent, including 6-of-33 (18 percent) in the second half.

Illinois forwards Victor Chukwudebe (ankle) and Damir Krupalija (toe) both missed the game.

Bradford was pleased with how the Illini played as a team.

"We really moved the ball to the open man. On defense, it was five-on-five. We were communicating and helping each other," he said.