Highlights
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- No. 23 Illinois used a big second half to beat Quincy, 87-52, at State Farm Center on Friday night in the team's lone exhibition game.
The exhibition allowed head coach Brad Underwood to give playing time to nearly his entire roster, with 12 Illini players registering minutes.
Ten different Illini scored in the win, with Coleman Hawkins and RJ Melendez leading the way with 15, while Hawkins secured a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Illinois forced 25 Quincy turnovers, scoring 32 points off those takeaways, while holding the Hawks to 31.4% from the field. The Illini used a big second half, outscoring the visitors, 53-28, in the final 20 minutes to take home the exhibition victory.
The Illini out-rebounded the Hawks 47-34, and they took advantage of their 20 offensive boards, scoring 29 second-chance points.
Illinois also dominated under the basket, scoring 52 points in the paint while holding Quincy to just 12.
Terrence Shannon Jr. and Skyy Clark both registered double-digit points in their Illinois debuts, notching 12 and 11, respectively, while Clark played a game-high 29 minutes.
The new-look Illini's first starting lineup featured three newcomers – Clark, Shannon, and Matthew Mayer – and two returners, Hawkins and Melendez, in the team's first action of the season.
Illinois scored its first points of the season via Melendez, who notched the team's first four points of the night. After a back-and-forth opening six minutes, the Illini used an 11-0 run that spanned over four minutes to take a six-point lead.
Hawkins and Mayer combined to score 15 of Illinois' final 17 points of the half as the Illini headed into the break with a 34-24 advantage. Hawkins led all scorers with 11 first-half points, while Melendez and Mayer both recorded six points.
The Illini defense forced Quincy to 30.8% from the field while grabbing 10 steals and forcing 15 turnovers across the opening 20 minutes of action.
Consecutive 3-pointers from Melendez and Clark early in the second half pushed the Illinois lead to 14. After Hawkins grabbed an offensive rebound and converted the ensuing layup, the Illini used a 16-2 stretch to push their advantage to 25 midway through the second half.
Eight straight points from Shannon extended the lead to 28 before the Illini freshmen scored the team's final 14 points of the night.
Illinois returns to action on Nov. 7 for its regular-season opener against Eastern Illinois.
Quotes
Underwood's opening statement:
"It was great to see (Quincy) Coach (Steve) Hawkins again and his group. They've been hot for a long time, and I'm very happy for him to be back at QU, in a place where he was very successful before. This team he has will continue to grow.
"Very sluggish. Maybe that's not the right word. We played so fast the first half that was really ugly, which most exhibition games are, but I thought that we got in a better rhythm in the second half. We moved the ball. We took shots in the first half that were really out of rhythm and hard. We just never ran anything.
"I thought Sencire Harris came in defensively. Did a very nice job of kind of changing the momentum. He had a little aggression to him on the defensive side. We were very passive, and I thought that was impactful. We kind of got going in the second half, and I thought the freshmen did us a job and disrupted them a little bit. When we didn't foul, which is something we've been emphasizing, when we didn't foul, I thought we bothered them and took them out of style."
Hawkins on early struggles and late-game adjustments:
"A lot of the guys had first-game jitters, seeing the crowd there, seeing the different jersey. I think it was just a little bit of nervousness out there. We make all these plays in practice. The ball goes a little different when there's a crowd there. I think it was just a little shaky at first for a couple people on the team, but I think towards the end of the game we got on our press, pressured the ball. We got a little more comfortable, I think, as people settled it."
Shannon on his first game at State Farm Center:
"It was different. I'm used to the environment. I love it. I made a decision to come here, and it's my new home, so it's just me getting comfortable in it. My teammates are gonna help me through that."
