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"The clock was running down, I
had an open shot, and I hit it," Head said. "They were a good team,
but we finally played some good defense and made some shots to get
us back in the game."
Illinois fell behind 37-23
after the first quarter and had to battle through foul troubles the
remainder of the game. The Illini finished the game with just five
eligible players after four players fouled out.
"I'm really happy we won
because this was a tough game," head coach Bruce Weber said. "You
can make all kinds of excuses because we had a long travel day
yesterday, we got into big-time foul trouble, and Sweden has some
really good players, but we responded well after falling behind by
more than 15 points early. We needed everyone we brought along since
four of our guys fouled out. It was nice to get a win in a tough
situation. We got a feeling of what it is going to be like in a lot
of games this season.
"Luther obviously made a big
shot, and Dee made some great plays, especially down the stretch, to
get us into overtime. James Augustine and Aaron Spears played some
tough minutes when we had no one else to look to on the inside. I'm
glad we didn't have to go into another overtime, or we might have
had to play short-handed. This may be the best team we play over
here, but I hope not."
Dee Brown led all scorers with
28 points, while Head and Roger Powell each scored 19. Brown gave
the Illini their first lead, at 66-65, with a 3-pointer at the 6:02
mark of the third quarter.
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this article] |
Hot shooting in the first
quarter got the Swedes off to a big lead, but the Illini were able
to close within eight at halftime. Using international rules, where
a team shoots two free throws beginning with the fifth foul in each
quarter, Sweden made 22 of 26 free throws in the first half.
The Illini cut down on the
fouls in the second half yet had four players foul out of the game:
Deron Williams, James Augustine, Roger Powell and Jack Ingram.
Illinois finished the game with five eligible players, three of whom
had four fouls.
After a tough early start
defensively, the Illini held Sweden to just 62 points over the last
three quarters of regulation. Illinois dominated the boards by a
56-29 count after trailing by an 18-15 count at halftime. Sweden
made just 11 of 32 3-point attempts.
Augustine had a double-double
with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Spears missed by one point,
with nine points and 10 boards. Head added nine rebounds and four
blocks with his 19 points.
The Southern Illinois Salukis,
whom Weber led as head coach for the last five seasons, are also in
Stockholm for two games and attended the contest. Jim Nystrom, a
sophomore at Georgia Tech, was one of the Swedish players.
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