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Varese, Italy– Illinois opened its 4-game Italy Tour by dominating CUS Insubria, 118-56, on Tuesday night in Varese. Illinois received a balanced effort, as all 10 Illini logged double digit minutes, including seven players between 21 and 24 minutes. Along with spreading out the playing time to experiment with different lineups and rotations, Coach Underwood is also using the trip to gives his coaching staff opportunities to serve as head coach. Tonight, it was Geoff Alexander who coached the Illini squad.
Once the Fighting Illini worked off the jet lag in the opening few minutes, it was all Orange and Blue the rest of the night. The Illini led by 20 after the first quarter and after halftime turned its defense up another notch, outscoring the hosts 34-to-9 in the third quarter. The final margin was 62 points with seven Illini scoring in double figures.
Illinois shot 60.2 percent on the night, including 41.4 percent from 3-point range (12-29). The Illini grabbed 17 steals, leading to a number of fast-break scoring chances.
Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu led the way with a dominant performance, scoring 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point land, to go along with five assists and four rebounds.
Sophomore Giorgi Bezhanishvili was efficient in the post, scoring 18 points on 9-of-10 accuracy in the lane, while grabbing six boards.
Junior Trent Frazier scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half, and senior Kipper Nichols played a strong all-around game with 17 points, seven boards (six offensive), two assists and two steals.
Sophomore Alan Griffin registered a double-double, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-11 from the field and a game-high 11 rebounds – eight of which came on the offensive glass.
Junior Da'Monte Williams also was strong on the boards, collecting 10 while grabbing a game-high five steals.
Senior guard Andres Feliz and freshman center Kofi Cockburn were unable to travel with the team on its Aug. 4 flight to Milan, Italy, due to visa issues and missed the game vs. CUS Insubria.
The Illini are back in action Wednesday, taking on the Gazzada All-Stars at 1 p.m. CT.
Be sure to visit FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates of Illinois' trip, including photos, videos, game recaps, interviews and stats.
