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Cook
leads Illinois to victory
in border war battle
By Greg
Taylor
[DEC.
22, 2000]
Lincoln's
Brian Cook, playing what coach Bill Self called "the best half (of
basketball) by anyone on our team this year," led Illinois to an
86-81 overtime victory over rival Missouri on Thursday evening at the
sold-out Savvis Center in St. Louis, Mo. Cook had 23 points in the first
half alone on 9-of-10 shooting and finished with 25 points and 11
rebounds, both team highs for the 9-2 Illini. Brian finished the game with
two 3-point baskets and made all three of his free throw attempts.
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Click
here for pictures from the game
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Cook's
performance was especially critical on a night when starters Cory Bradford
and Marcus Griffin had sub-par performances. Bradford was just 1-of-8 from
the field and finished with only six points, while Griffin, who played two
years at Lincoln College, finished with just 10 points and missed several
close shot attempts. Illinois led the game 43-37 at the halftime break.
While
it was Cook who helped the Illini to the halftime lead, it was Peorian
Frank Williams who rallied Illinois late and took over in the extra
session. Williams had just four points at halftime and appeared very
frustrated by the pressure defense Missouri placed upon him. However,
Williams scored Illinois' last two buckets in regulation, the second of
which tied the game at 72 with just 40 seconds remaining. In overtime, it
was Frankie time, as Williams scored six of Illinois' 14 overtime points
and sealed the game with a 3-point play with just over two minutes
remaining to give Illinois a seven-point lead.
Though
unranked, Missouri proved to be a very tough opponent for the Illini. For
one of the first times this year, Illinois' bench was outscored, with an
18-13 advantage for the Tigers. Missouri was led by junior Clarence
Gilbert, who scored 23 points, including four 3-point baskets.
[to top of second column
in this article] |
Illinois
returns to action on Saturday evening with a non-conference game against
Texas. The game will be played in Austin, Texas, at 5:30 p.m. and can be
seen on ESPN2.
Illini notes
- Junior Damir Krupalijia did
not see any action, leading to speculation he may seek a medical
redshirt for this season, which would allow him two full years of
eligibility after this season. The 6-foot-9 junior from Bosnia by way
of Rockford has played in just five games this season and can play in
only one more if he wants to seek the redshirt.
- Illini coach Bill Self was a
finalist for the Missouri coaching job in the spring of 1999, which
went to Duke assistant Quin Snyder.
- Missouri had won seven of the
last nine border war games, dating back to 1991. Prior to 1991,
Illinois enjoyed an eight-game winning streak.
- Junior Cory Bradford kept his
3-point streak alive with a 3-point basket early in the second half.
Bradford has connected on at least one 3-point basket in 75 straight
games, an NCAA record.
[Greg
Taylor]
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Box score
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Missouri
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37
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35
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9
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81
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Illinois
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43
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29
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14
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86
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Missouri
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FG
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FT
|
reb
|
|
|
|
|
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min
|
m-a
|
m-a
|
o-t
|
a
|
pf
|
tp
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Rush
Soyoye
Johnson
Gilbert
Grawer
Stokes
Bryant
Gage
Paulding
Parker
Totals
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21
35
32
38
36
24
3
17
16
3
225
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5-13
0-1
7-10
8-23
3-6
3-10
0-0
1-1
2-7
0-0
29-71
|
0-0
6-8
1-4
3-5
0-0
2-4
0-0
0-3
3-5
0-0
15-29
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2-5
4-9
5-12
0-1
0-1
0-4
0-0
3-3
2-4
0-1
16-40
|
3
2
0
1
2
2
0
0
0
0
10
|
5
4
3
1
5
4
2
1
5
2
32
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11
6
15
23
8
9
0
2
7
0
81
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Percentages:
Fg-.408, Ft-.517
3-point goals: 8-28, .286 (Rush 1-6, Gilbert 4-13, Grawer 2-5,
Stokes 1-3, Paulding 0-1)
Team rebounds: 5
Blocked shots: 3 (Johnson 2, Paulding)
Turnovers: 17 (Gilbert 3, Paulding 3, Bryant 2, Johnson 2, Rush 2,
Soyoye 2, Grawer, Parker, Stokes)
Steals: 8 (Stokes 3, Gilbert, Grawer, Johnson, Rush, Soyoye).
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Illinois
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FG
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FT
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reb
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min
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m-a
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m-a
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o-t
|
a
|
pf
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tp
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Cook
Mcclain
Griffin
Bradford
Williams
Melton
Archibald
Johnson
Harrington
Howard
Totals
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42
32
30
35
36
0
12
19
19
0
225
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10-14
3-7
5-10
1-8
8-17
0-0
0-2
1-3
1-4
0-0
29-65
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3-3
8-12
0-2
3-4
2-3
1-2
3-4
3-4
1-4
0-0
24-38
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3-11
6-9
2-11
0-2
0-3
0-0
0-1
1-7
0-0
0-0
12-44
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1
5
0
0
5
0
1
2
0
0
14
|
3
4
5
3
3
0
2
1
3
0
24
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25
14
10
6
18
1
3
5
4
0
86
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Percentages:
Fg-.446, Ft-.632
3-point goals: 4-16, .250 (Cook 2-4, Bradford 1-6, Williams 0-3,
Harrington 1-3)
Team rebounds: 5
Blocked shots: 3 (Cook, Bradford, Williams)
Turnovers: 16 (Williams 4, Bradford 3, Griffin 3, Johnson 2,
Mcclain 2, Cook, Harrington)
Steals: 6 (Griffin 2, Williams 2, Harrington, Johnson)
Technical fouls: None
Attendance: 22,089
Officials: Ted Hillary, Bill Kennedy, Paul Janssen
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Mayfields
1, Rest of the world 0
 By Jeff
Mayfield
[DEC.
16, 2000]
Last
evening a most amazing thing took place. A new little child was born into the
world. Now we’re told that thousands of births are recorded each day,
but from this reporter’s viewpoint, none was like this. Sure it was in a
sterile environment, in a nice clean hospital with all the amenities you
would hope to have on hand if you were going to be giving birth to a baby.
Yet, something was unique about our experience.
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We
were blessed with a heaven-appointed doctor who throughout the pregnancy
has displayed outstanding skills and the most wonderful bedside manner.
But even he is not what has made this occasion so special.
Family
and friends have bombarded us with so many cards, gifts and well wishes
that it is downright humbling. My wife and I much prefer to be on the
giving end rather than the receiving end of those kinds of expressions,
and still that encouragement is not what is setting this moment apart.
Having
the delivery in central Illinois is incredibly exciting but not enough to
be the factor to make this situation so memorable.
At
the same time this historic event was taking place, sports fans all over
the area were asking such questions as: Will the Illini make it to the
Final Four? How will all of the Railer sports teams do this winter? Will
the Rams and Colts collide in the Super Bowl? Will Earnhardt and Gordon
make comebacks on next year’s NASCAR circuit? Will the Cubs and
Cardinals make themselves better in the off-season?
[to top of second column in
this article] |
The
answer to all of these questions is…who in the heck cares? My son has
just arrived into the world! Stop the earth, stop the presses, and stop
the sports schedules…I’m taking a big TIMEOUT. And if you think some
of those TV timeouts are long, wait to see the one I’m taking! I’ve
been saving up all those 20s those fans in the stands said I should’ve
used way back when I coached college basketball, and I’m using them all…right
now! I don’t care what any athletic team anywhere on the planet or even
in the universe is doing right now. I’m sorry…but, I couldn’t care
less. I’m not even doing any scoreboard watching…the only boards I’m
watching now are the monitors that tell me how my wife and son are doing.
The only one I’m coaching and the ONLY one I’m a fan of, is this
beautiful little boy.
Please
give a warm LDN hello to Payne Montgomery Mayfield, who was born on
Friday, Dec. 15, at 9:59 p.m.! As far as I’m concerned, the only game that counted
yesterday was the
one that I was involved in. And I score it Mayfields 1, Rest of the world
0.
Thank you
all for your thoughts and prayers.
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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