Ivisic Leads Illinois to Gritty Home Win Over Oakland

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois remained undefeated on the season with a gritty 66-54 win over Oakland at State Farm Center on Wednesday night.

Tomislav Ivisic led the Illini in scoring for the second-consecutive contest, tallying a career-high and game-most 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting. Ivisic also made a career-best four steals and corralled six rebounds.

Ben Humrichous recorded multiple 3-pointers and scored in double figures for the third-straight game, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds, and one block.

Kylan Boswell rattled in a season-high two 3-pointers and amassed eight points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal.

Will Riley and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn totaled eight points and seven points, respectively, off the bench.

After both teams missed their first two attempts from the field, the Illini used a stretch of four consecutive makes to open up a 9-3 lead within the first four minutes of play. Tre White began that run with a jumper before Ivisic tallied four points and Humrichous knocked down his first 3-pointer of the night.

A 7-2 Illini run shortly after, which included five points from Riley, saw the hosts take a nine-point edge. A 6-0 Illinois scoring stretch following the under-12 media timeout brought the home side's advantage into double digits for the first time.

The Golden Grizzlies answered right back with a 10-0 run to cut their deficit to three points with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half, but 3-pointers from Kylan Boswell and White gave the Illini a 28-19 edge less than 90 seconds later.

The Illini lead did not reach double digits again in the first half, with Oakland making five straight shots to keep pace with the Orange and Blue. Leading by as many as 13, Illinois went into halftime with a 36-29 advantage.

Seven Illini scored at least two points in the first half, including a game-high 10-point effort for Ivisic across the first 20 minutes of action.

Oakland cut its deficit to just two points early in the second half, but the Illini's lead was not in singles digits for long. An 11-0 Illinois run brought the hosts' advantage up to 53-38 with just over 12 minutes remaining. Five different scorers accounted for points during that stretch, which saw the Illini hold the Golden Grizzlies scoreless for over four minutes.

After a 5-0 Oakland run cut the Illini's lead to 10, Illinois held the Golden Grizzlies without a point for over five minutes but only managed to extend its lead to 57-45. The Orange and Blue went scoreless for nearly five minutes but snapped that streak with a transition dunk from White with three-and-a-half minutes to go.

A late 7-0 run for the Illini helped the hosts take their largest lead of the game, 66-49, and the Orange and Blue closed out the victory to improve to 3-0.

After completing its season-opening three-game homestand, Illinois (3-0) travels to Birmingham, Alabama, for a neutral-site game against #2 Alabama on Nov. 20 at Legacy Arena. The opening tip of the C.M. Newton Classic between the Fighting Illini and Crimson Tide is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

POSTGAME NOTES

Player Notes

• Tomislav Ivisic scored a career-high 20 points and added six rebounds.
  • Marked his first 20-point game of the season.
  • Has scored in double figures in all three games to begin his collegiate career. 
  • Scored a game-high 10 points in the first half, going 4-for-7 from the floor and grabbing two rebounds.
  • Finished 9-for-14 from the floor, a career best for field goals made. 
  • Posted a team-high four steals.
• Ben Humrichous chipped in with 10 points and matched Tomislav Ivisic and Kasparas Jakucionis with a team-high six rebounds.
  • Has scored in double figures in all three games this season.
  • Has made at least two 3-pointers in each game this season.
• Will Riley tallied eight points, secured four rebounds, and dished out two assists.
• Kylan Boswell scored eight points, his most as an Illini, and added two rebounds and two assists.
• Tre White scored seven points to go along with two rebounds and three assists.
• Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored seven points and secured three rebounds, all on the offensive glass, while also tallying two steals.
• Kasparas Jakucionis scored four points, dished out three assists, and tied Tomislav Ivisic and Ben Humrichous with a team-high six rebounds.

Team Notes

• Starting lineup: Kylan Boswell, Ben Humrichous, Tomislav Ivisic, Kasparas Jakucionis and Tre White.
• Illinois improves to 5-0 all-time vs. Oakland.
  • All five wins have come in Champaign.
• The Illini have started 3-0 for the third time in the Brad Underwood era and for the second time in the past three years.
• Illinois used a 17-4 run over a 7:25 span to take a 15-point lead and pull away in the second half.
• The Illini outrebounded the Golden Grizzlies, 37-27, which included a 12-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
  • Illinois turned those 12 o-boards into 13 second-chance points.
  • The Illini have won the rebounding battle in al lthree games this season, including two games with an advantage of 10+ rebounds. 
• The Illinois defense forced a season-high 18 turnovers, scoring 13 points off of those turnovers.
• The Illini assisted 11 times on their 23 field goals.
  • Illinois has assisted on at least 47% of its field goals in each of the team's three games this season.