Hill helps Illinois past Missouri

[December 22, 2016]  The Sports Xchange

Playing 20 miles from his home, Malcolm Hill delivered a game-high 21 points to guide Illinois to a 75-66 victory over Missouri in the Braggin' Rights Classic on Wednesday night at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

Maverick Morgan notched 19 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Illinois (10-3), which defeated Missouri for the fourth year in a row.

Jalen Coleman-Lands added 12 points as the Illini never trailed and will take a six-game winning streak into their Big Ten opener on Dec. 27 at Maryland.

Kevin Puryear posted 17 points and nine rebounds to pace the Tigers (5-6), who pulled within 69-63 on Puryear's two free throws with 3:21 to go. Missouri missed five of its six shots and committed a turnover the rest of the way.

The Illini built a 39-29 halftime lead by shooting 63 percent from the field and outrebounding the smaller Tigers 20-8. However, Illinois was never able to put Missouri away.

Missouri got a spark off the bench from Jordan Geist, who turned the action into a 94-foot game whenever he touched the ball -- either by pushing the ball for layups or serving as a one-man press against Illinois' ball-handlers.

On two occasions during the second half, the Tigers pulled within five points.

The first time, Illinois quickly restored its lead to 10 primarily because of a Hill jumper and a 3-pointer. The second time, Hill answered with two free throws before the Illini started feeding the ball to the 6-foot-10 Morgan in the post.

Illinois won despite getting almost nothing from its Nos. 2 and 3 scorers because of foul problems. Leron Black went scoreless in 17 minutes and Tracy Abrams scored three points in 13 minutes before fouling out with 6:36 to play.

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