Illinois holds on to beat Tennessee-Martin

[November 13, 2017]  The Sports Xchange

Leron Black scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds, helping Illinois to a 77-74 win over Tennessee-Martin on Sunday at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

The Illini held on when Matthew Butler's desperation heave at the buzzer was short.

The Skyhawks forced Illini turnovers on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to 76-72 with 1:08 left.

After an Illinois free throw, Fatodd Lewis made a layup to cut the lead to three.

Black and Aaron Jordan scored four points each during a 14-4 run that put the Illini (2-0) up 65-51 with 7:34 to go.

The Skyhawks scored 14 straight points after Illinois took an 18-point lead early in the second half.

DelFincko Bogan scored eight points during the run, which cut the Illini lead to 51-47 with 13:20 remaining.

Bogan, who came off the bench, led Tennessee-Martin (0-2) with 23 points, six assists and seven steals. Butler added 16 points for the Skyhawks.

Freshman guard Mark Smith had 13 points for Illinois.

The Illini were 19-for-27 from the free-throw line, two days after making 34 of 37 from the line in a 102-55 rout of Southern on Friday.

The Illini continued to struggle from long range.

Illinois, which was 4-for-21 from beyond the arc in Friday's win, made 6 of 21 on Sunday.

Tennessee-Martin didn't score for the first 4:24 of the game, but scored seven straight points over the next minute to go up 7-4.

Illinois retook the lead and gradually pulled away, taking a 44-29 lead at halftime.

Black was 5-for-6 in the first half.

The Illini will host DePaul on Saturday. Tennessee-Martin hosts North Carolina Central in its home opener on Thursday.

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