Final Stats

By JIM PAUL
Associated Press Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Bruce Weber was nervous when he walked into the Assembly Hall on Saturday night for his first game as Illinois coach.

"You're kind of getting a little antsy because you don't know what's going to happen, you're a little bit short-handed and crazy things happen," Weber said, referring to his depleted team.

But the 12th-ranked Illini had little trouble beating Western Illinois 94-66 despite having only nine players available. Luther Head, Aaron Spears and Richard McBride spent the game on the bench, serving suspensions for violating team rules.

Dee Brown scored 23 points to lead five Illini players in double figures as they built a 37-9 lead in the first 14 minutes and were never threatened.

"We came out with energy on defense and that was the main thing we were focusing on," Brown said. "We know we've got some work to do on the offensive end, but defensively I think we came out and played strong."

Western (0-3) put together a 12-2 run in the closing minutes of the first half, but that was the most pressure it could put on the Illini all night.

"You build that lead and it's human nature to get a little bored. You're on your heels instead of your toes, and we let them make a little run," Weber said.

But the Illini started the second half with a 16-6 run to push a 49-28 halftime lead to 65-34. They were able to keep the spread at about 30 points throughout the second half.

"When you get down to a team like that, when you get down 15 or 20 points early, you're always fighting to get back into the game," Western Illinois coach Derek Thomas said. "I just thought we expended a lot of energy and weren't able to get into the flow of the game."

Roger Powell added 14 points, Nick Smith 13 and James Augustine 12 for the Illini, who hit 52 percent of their shots and were 7-for-22 from behind the 3-point line. Deron Williams added 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, nearly a triple-double.

"I plan on getting one someday," he said.

Augustine added 13 rebounds, a career high, and the Illini extended their Assembly Hall winning streak to 18 in a row.

Western Illinois shot only 37 percent and committed 18 turnovers. Doyle Cole led the Leathernecks with 16 points and Bobby Carter scored 14.

Illinois takes on Mercer at home Wednesday before traveling to Temple and No. 9 North Carolina. Weber said his team must improve quickly.

"I want to get leadership," he said. "I want to get maturity. I want to have someone understand tempo. If we are truly the top-20 team that everyone's saying, those are the things that I think we need to make strides with."