Jan 21, 2004

Final Stats?|? Notes

By JIM PAUL
Associated Press Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Roger Powell scored 16 points and Deron Williams scored 12 points and had 8 assists to lead Illinois to an 80-37 win over Penn State Wednesday night.

Powell hit six of his seven shots from the field and was 4-7 from the free throw line as the Illini (12-4, 3-2 Big Ten) won their second straight.

Williams, a 6-3 guard, had seven of his assists in the first half and scored eight points after halftime while defending man-to-man against Penn State's tallest player, 7-footer Jan Jagla.

Jagla scored only five points and spent most of the second half on the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 13:43 to go.

Aaron Johnson led the Nittany Lions (8-7, 2-2) with 13 points. Penn State, which had not played for a week, shot only 21 percent for the game.

The Nittany Lions hit only 5 of 37 shots in the second half.

Illinois put together a 12-3 run early in the first half and was never in trouble again. The Illini outscored the Nittany Lions 21-7 over the final ten minutes of the half and had a 41-21 lead at the break.

Penn State hit only one field goal in the final eight minutes of the half and didn't connect from the field until more than four minutes had elapsed in the second half. By then, Illinois was up 53-21.

The Illini, who played reserves for the final 10 minutes, built the lead to 46 points, 77-31, with 3:37 to go.