Nov 24, 2002

Final Stats?|? Notes

By JASON STRAIT
AP Sports Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Sophomore Roger Powell had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead five underclassmen in double figures for Illinois in a 90-56 win over Lehigh on Sunday night.

Illinois (1-0) started three freshman and two sophomores in its first regular season game because of injuries and suspensions to two of its players, and the inexperience showed early on.

Freshman James Augustine, starting for suspended forward Brian Cook, turned the ball over three times in the first two minutes and had five turnovers in five minutes of play before being benched.

But after a few rocky minutes, the Illini's youngsters eventually settled down and easily pulled away from Lehigh (1-1).

Illinois trailed 15-12 before going on an 18-3 run that was capped by a crowd-pleasing dunk by freshman Aaron Spears. The 6-9 center caught a pass four feet from the basket, spun around a defender and slammed the ball with one hand for his first career points at Illinois.

After a basket by Lehigh, Illinois outscored the Mountain Hawks 17-4 behind three 3-pointers from 6-8 freshman Kyle Wilson and took a 47-24 halftime lead.

Illinois shot 56 percent for the game, including 46 percent from 3-point range, and held Lehigh to 37 percent shooting.

Cook and reserve guard Jerrance Howard sat out while serving two-game suspensions for playing in a non-sanctioned summer tournament. Cook is the leading returning scorer and rebounder for the Illini, which lost three starters from last season's team that won a four-way share of the Big Ten championship.

Wilson scored 14 points and made 3-of-5 3-pointers. Illinois guards Dee Brown and Deron Williams, both freshmen, combined for 26 points and had four assists apiece.

Zlatko Savovic and Matt Logie led Lehigh with 18 points each.

Illinois guard Luther Head, who started 13 games last season as a freshman and averaged 4.5 points, was in uniform but didn't play because of a groin injury.