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Gazzada Schianno, Italy– The Fighting Illini torched the nets on Wednesday night, shooting 62.3 percent from the field in a 112-63 victory over the Gazzada All-Stars. Much of Illinois' damage was done from long distance, as the Illini drained 16-of-24 from 3-point range (66.7 percent) during its second game in two days to improve to 2-0 on the tour.
While Illinois' offense was the talk of the gym, its defense was stout early. The Orange and Blue allowed just two baskets in the opening quarter while jumping out to a 29-8 lead from which it never looked back. Illinois extended the advantage to 64-25 at the half before locking in the final margin of 49 points.Â
Illinois moved the ball throughout the game, resulting in many open looks and an impressive 65 percent assist rate, with 28 of 43 baskets coming from assists.
Five players scored in double figures, but it was sophomore Alan Griffin who stole the show. And he was recognized in a post-game announcement presenting him with an MVP trophy. Griffin scored a game-high 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting, including a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc. He added eight rebounds (four offensive), three assists, one block and one steal to continue his strong play this summer.
Fellow sophomore Tevian Jones also shot it well, totaling 18 points on 7-11 shooting, including 4-7 from three, with five rebounds.
The starting backcourt of sophomore Ayo Dosunmu and junior Trent Frazier were solid across the board once again. Dosunmu scored 12 points in the opening quarter and finished with 16 on 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 on treys, to go along with four assists and two steals. Frazier, meanwhile, was efficient in his production, scoring 16 on just seven shot attempts (5-7, 2-2 3FG, 4-4 FT) while dishing out six assists.Â
Sophomore Giorgi Bezhanishvili heated up in the second half to finish with 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds. And junior Da'Monte Williams dished out a game-high eight assists with five boards.
Assistant Ron 'Chin' Coleman served as head coach for tonight's game, as Coach Brad Underwood continues his plan of giving each member of the staff the opportunity to lead the team for a game during the tour. Coleman distributed the minutes nearly equally, providing playing time for everyone and a look at various lineups. All 10 Illini logged double-digit minutes, with seven players finishing with between 20-26 minutes.
Illinois is off tomorrow, traveling from Milan to Florence. The Illini return to action for game 3 of the tour on Friday vs. the Livorno All-Stars at 1 p.m CT.
2019 Italy Tour
Aug. 6 – Illinois 118, CUS Insurbia 56 | Recap | Box Score | Highlights | Interviews | Full Game
Aug. 7 – Illinois 112, Gazzada All-Stars 63 | Recap | Box Score | Photos | Interviews | Full Game
Aug. 9 – Illinois vs. Livorno All-Stars (1 pm CT)
Aug. 10 – Illinois vs. Netherlands National B Team (Noon CT)
For coverage of the Italy Tour, including photos, videos, game recaps, interviews, stats and more, visit FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.Â
