Dec. 5, 1999

Box Score

By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

WASHINGTON - After an intense loss to Maryland before a hostile crowd, Illinois had a relatively workmanlike victory in a half-empty arena.

Cory Bradford scored 19 points and Marcus Griffin had 16 as No. 16 Fighting Illini defeated Seton Hall 72-61 on Sunday in the consolation game of the BB&T Classic.

Following a 69-67 loss to the No. 24 Terrapins the night before, the Fighting Illini (3-2) took the lead for good with an 11-2 run in the first half against the Pirates (3-2).

"We knew we should have taken care of business last night," said Griffin, who controlled the paint with four consecutive Illinois baskets during one stretch in the second half. "You can't get caught resting. Tonight we got a lot of second-shot opportunities."

Seton Hall essentially kept itself out of the game by shooting 36 percent, not much better than the Pirates' 32 percent performance in a loss to George Washington on Saturday. Senior co-captain Rimas Kaukenas was just 4-for-13 over the weekend, and he was clearly bothered by his lack of scoring chances.

"I feel people lose their trust in me," Kaukenas said. "They don't trust me, don't believe in me. I gave my heart and soul to that game."

His coach, Tommy Amaker, saw thing differently.

"I thought he had good looks," Amaker said. "He just didn't make shots. He's human. It's not like people don't scout us. They try to limit Rimas' 3-point looks just like we did with Bradford."

Amaker had another personnel problem to deal with. Regulars Gary Saunders and Greg Morton missed a team bus, so they were left out of the starting lineup.

Backup forward Damir Krupalija fought for a pair of offensive rebounds that turned into baskets to start the 11-2 spurt that gave Illinois a 26-16 lead. Bradford finished the run with a 3-pointer.

After that, Seton Hall didn't get closer than eight points until they closed to 60-56 with a 10-0 rally. But Bradford hit a 3-pointer with 4:15 to play to get the lead back to seven, then followed with another with 2:35 left to make it 68-56.

The Illini's aggressive zone defense disrupted Seton Hall 3-point shooters. The Pirates were just 9-for-28 from long range, although back-to-back 3s from Darius Lane and Shaheen Holloway spurred the late 10-0 rally. A key turn of events came with the score 65-56, when Holloway threw up an air ball on a 3-point attempt then was knocked to the court with an elbow as Bradford made the big 3-pointer at the other end.

Lane, in the starting lineup after scoring a career-high 24 points against George Washington, finished with 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting to lead Seton Hall.