CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Trent Frazier scored 16 points and Kipper Nichols added 14 to lead Illinois past Mississippi Valley State 86-67 on Sunday.
Da'Monte Williams scored 10 points and Ayo Dosunmu grabbed 9 rebounds and recorded 9 assists for Illinois (2-4). With the win, Illinois snapped a four-game skid.
Jordan Evans scored a game-high 22 points for Mississippi Valley (1-6, 0-0 SWAC). Dante Scott and Aleksa Koracin added 12 and 10 points respectively, while Emmanuel Ejeh had 8 rebounds for the Delta Devils.
The Illini went on a 10-0 run to end the first half, sealing the victory. Nichols hit a turnaround jumper with 3:37 left in the half to begin the run, which included 3-pointers by Tyler Underwood and Frazier.
Both teams turned the ball over 13 times, but Illinois capitalized and scored 14 points to Mississippi Valley's eight.
Illinois now travels to Notre Dame on Tuesday for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge before opening Big Ten play Sunday at Nebraska.
TEAM NOTES
• Tuesday's game was the second all-time meeting between Illinois and Mississippi Valley State, and the first meeting between the teams since Dec. 5, 1987, which Illinois won 111-73. Illinois leads the series 2-0.
• Illinois tied a program record with 16 three-point field goals. The Illini have reached this mark twice previously, the last vs. McKendree on Nov. 15, 2016 and first on March 26, 2005 in the Illini's Elite Eight victory over Arizona.
• The 53-percent shooting percentage from beyond the arc is a season-best for the Fighting Illini.
• Illinois first 13 shot attempts came from beyond the arc, with the Illini knocking down six of its attempts. The first two-point bucket for Illinois came on a layup by Kipper Nichols with 12:42 remaining in the first half.
• The Illini set a season-high with 26 assists against Mississippi Valley State.
• Illinois jumped out to a double-digit advantage on the glass, outrebounding Mississippi Valley State 25-14 in the first half. Illinois finished the game with a 39-26 rebounding advantage.
• Illinois' bench outscored the bench of the Mississippi Valley State 27-2 in the first half. The Illinois bench scored 54 points in the game.
• Today's game was Epilepsy Awareness Day. Fans entering State Farm Center received purple wristbands and an informational card about epilepsy. Purple pompoms were distributed throughout the 100-level of the arena. The day also included in-game announcements to help educate fans about epilepsy, and a donation by the Orange Krush the Illini basketball student support group, who earlier this month held a dodgeball tournament to raise money for Athletes vs. Epilepsy. Illini Assistant Coach Jamall Walker and his family have teamed up with the Epilempsy foundation to help spread the message after their son Braylon was diagnosed.
• Up Next: The Illini head to South Bend for a matchup with Notre Dame as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Sophomore Trent Frazier led the Illini in scoring with 16 points. Frazier knocked down four of his six three-point attempts and finished five of seven from the field.
• Redshirt junior Kipper Nichols recorded a new season-best with 16 points. Nichols made six of his eight attempts.
• Freshman Ayo Dosunmu grabbed nine rebounds to set a new season-high and added nine assists and six points.
• Freshman Samba Kane made his Illinois debut, finishing with 6 points, on 3 of 6 shooting from the field.
• Graduate student Adonis De La Rosa started his first game for Illinois.
• Redshirt junior Tyler Underwood recorded his first career points for Illinois, while junior Samson Oladimeji scored his first points of the season.
