Dec. 19, 2004

Final Stats |  Notes

By JIM PAUL
Associated Press Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Dee Brown had 19 points to lead all five Illinois starters in double figures for the second straight game, and the top-ranked Illini beat Valparaiso 93-56 on Sunday.

Brown scored five points in a 20-5 run midway through the second half that gave the Illini (10-0) a 39-point lead over the Crusaders (2-6), who saw a two-game winning streak end.

The Illini were playing their first game in eight days but weren't fazed by the layoff. They shot 59 percent from the field in a game full of plays that seemed to draw as many "oohs" and "ahs" as cheers from the sellout crowd of 16,618.

Deron Williams scored 15 points, Roger Powell Jr. had 14, Luther Head had 11 points and nine assists and James Augustine had 10 points and nine rebounds for Illinois.

Valparaiso, playing its sixth straight game without injured senior point guard Ali Berdiel, got 16 points from Dan Oppland and 10 from Vincent Humphrey. The Crusaders shot 34 percent and committed 15 turnovers.

A 3-pointer by Brown and a jumper by Williams put the Illini up 5-0 and started a 14-5 run to open the game. Illinois also had runs of 10-3, 12-3 and 14-2 as it built a 49-23 halftime lead.

The Illini went up by 36 points with 13:12 to go when Brown followed his own 3-pointer by batting for a loose ball at midcourt and then sprinting to beat Valpo's Seth Colclasure to recover it. He drove to the basket for a layup and drew both a foul and a standing ovation.

The Illini kept going from there, building a 74-35 lead on another layup by Brown with 10:12 to go.

The Illini had assists on 14 of 20 first-half baskets while committing only one turnover, a bad pass in the lane by Brown. They had 26 assists on 40 field goals in the game, while committing five turnovers.