MIAMI (AP) - Sophomore Leron Black tied a career high with 18 points and Illinois held Virginia Commonwealth to 30-percent shooting to win 64-46 Saturday in the HoopHall Miami Invitational at the Miami Heat's arena.
Malcolm Hill added 16 points, five assists and two steals, and Jalen Coleman-Lands had 12 points for Illinois (6-3).
VCU (6-2), which was off to its best start since 1993, had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Black went 6 for 13, had eight rebounds and was chosen the game's most valuable player. The Rams shot a season-worst 16 for 53, including 2 for 18 (11 percent) from 3-point range.
JeQuan Lewis, averaging a team-high 15.7 points, was held to three points and shot 1 for 7 from 3-point range. He limped out of the game at one point, and although he returned, he played only 21 minutes.
Mo Alie-Cox led the Rams with 10 points. They came in shooting 50 percent this season and had scored at least 63 points in every game.
Illinois outscored VCU 14-3 in the final 4:20.
The Illini missed 10 of their first 11 shots while falling behind 11-4. A 9-0 run put them ahead 22-14, and they led the rest of the way, although VCU scored 11 consecutive points to cut the margin to 35-34 early in the second half.
The Illini won with defense for a change. They scored at least 79 points in their five previous wins, and had allowed at least 62 points in every game.
The Illini return home to play IUPUI on Tuesday.
ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES
1. The win over VCU was the 1,750th in program history. The Illini are the 14th-winningest program in NCAA history with a 1,750-961 all-time record (.646).
2. RS sophomore forward Leron Black earned Hoophall Miami Invitational MVP honors with a game-high and career-high tying 18 points along with eight rebounds. Black is averaging 12.8 points and 8.0 rebounds over the Illini's last five games.
3. The Illini defense held VCU to its lowest point total (46) since a 60-40 loss at UNC Wilmington, Dec. 4, 2005. The Illinois defense limited the Rams to 30 percent FG shooting (16-of-53), 11 percent 3FG shooting (2-18) and forced 14 turnovers, which were turned in to 23 points on the Illini offensive end.
4. Illinois did not allow VCU to make a field goal in the final 7:37 of the game, when the UI lead was 44-40. The Orange and Blue finished with a 20-6 run the rest of the way, limiting the Rams to just six FTs and 0-6 shooting.
5. After falling behind 11-3 early and making just one of its first 12 shots, Illinois used a 19-3 first half run to take a 22-14 lead 4:46 before halftime and would never trail again.
6. Senior guard Malcolm Hill scored 16 points to bring his career scoring total to 1,409, tying him with Kendall Gill for 18th on the UI all-time scoring list.
7. Sophomore guard Jalen Coleman-Lands, usually a three-point specialist, hit a career-high five two-point field goals and finished with 12 points. He was 5-of-6 from inside the arc against the Rams. He entered the game 2-of-14 from two-point range and his previous high in game was three (twice in 2015-16).
