March 17, 2000

Penn Postgame Press Conference Video

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Pennsylvania took a calculated gamble, and Frank Williams made the Quakers pay.

The Quakers focused their perimeter defense on Cory Bradford, Illinois' top scoring threat, even if it meant giving Williams some open looks.

Williams responded with the best game of his freshman season, a 21-point outing that sent the Fighting Illini to a 68-58 victory Friday in the first round of the NCAA East Regional.

"I was ready to take advantage of it," the 6-foot-3 guard said. "If you put me in any situation I think it's a matter of just how tough you can be. I have a big heart as a freshman and I'll keep trying to go at it."

Williams was 6-for-9 from the field on a day when Bradford, averaging 15.3 points, missed his first six shots and did not score until 25 minutes into the contest. He wound up with five points on 2-for-9 field-goal shooting.

"We've got guys from the first to the last on this team who can get it done," Bradford said. "I don't think we really have one go-to guy. Everybody can step up and make plays."

Marcus Griffin added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Lucas Johnson had 10 points as fourth-seeded Illinois (22-9) ended Pennsylvania's 16-game winning streak.

But the difference was Williams, who has had his share of troubles in big games, including missing 10 of his 14 field-goal attempts last week in the Big Ten title game.

"He's just got worlds of potential," coach Lon Kruger said.

The Illini forced 13 turnovers, converted them into 18 points and harassed the Ivy League champions into 37-percent shooting.

Pennsylvania (21-8) trailed for the final 36 minutes but cut its deficit to one point early in the second half, only to come up short in its bid for its first NCAA tournament victory since 1994.

"We had opportunities, and it's disappointing," coach Fran Dunphy said.

Ugonna Onyekwe had 17 points and Matt Langel 11 for the Quakers.

"I'm sure in a week or two or whenever the time's appropriate, we'll be proud of what we did this year and the success we had," Langel said. "But right now we're pretty down because we wanted to beat Illinois and thought we could have."

Illinois capitalized on first-half foul trouble by the Quakers' Michael Jordan, the Ivy League MVP. Jordan was held to eight points, and his absence in the opening half helped the Illini build a lead they never relinquished.

The Quakers went up 6-2 before Illinois turned up the defensive pressure, forcing four turnovers and converting them into seven points in a 16-0 run.

The surge put the Illini up by 12, but Pennsylvania's problems were just beginning. Jordan was assessed his second and third personals in a two-second span, sending him to the bench with 11:13 left in the half.

"I should have backed off, but I try to play defense really aggressive," Jordan said. "I don't mind playing physical. It's just that I was on the short end of the stick."

His departure set the stage for Illinois to push its lead as high as 15 before Dunphy put Jordan back on the floor for selected possessions the rest of the half. The strategy worked, with Jordan scoring six points as the Quakers closed the half with a 17-7 run, trimming their deficit to 34-29.

A foul-line jumper by Frank Brown cut the Illini's lead to 38-37 with 17 minutes remaining, but Illinois scored the next six points. Bradford's first points of the game, on a fast-break layup at the 15-minute mark, made it 44-37.

Illinois pushed its lead as high as 13 in the closing minutes.