Illini Run Away from the Lions, 92-59

By Jeff Mayfield

[November 26, 2022] 

The Illinois Fighting Illini used some large spurts to build up a big lead and never faltered on their way to a 92-59 victory last night over the Lindenwood Lions. The Illini shot well on the night hitting at a nearly 60% clip from the field and 82% from the charity stripe. Illinois struggled with their turnovers but tried to overcome that by commanding the battle of the boards. They also had a whopping 16 steals in the contest.

Three Stars

We’re going with co-stars for our #1:

#1 R. J. Melendez

The sophomore from Puerto Rico is electrifying when he’s on and Friday night he was on. He had 17 points and 4 rebounds. From the opening moments of the game, played with students still home on Thanksgiving break, R.J. created the atmosphere by establishing himself on both sides of the ball. With his length he bothers and pressures on defense and when he’s making shots, he makes the Illini tougher to defend. He can also get up quick to make some posterizing dunks. Glad to see him rounding into form.

#1 Skyy Clark

One of the students sitting behind me loves to call Clark, the Weatherman. I love that moniker and if continues to get healthy and play like he did Friday our fortunes could have no ceiling! Clark looked like the consummate point guard and one that is even more dangerous when he’s hitting big outside shots from the perimeter. Clark had 19 points and was 3-of-4 from distance, 8-of-9 overall, threw in two nice dunks, tallied 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and a block and a steal for good measure. Maybe all the Tyger Campbell [the great UCLA point guard] lauding and platitudes while we were in Vegas got Clark’s attention and raised him to a whole new level. Anyway, this just in…this guy is pretty good.

#2 Matthew Mayer

Several fans are waiting for Mayer to explode. I’ll be extremely happy if he consistently brings what he brought last night. He was a bucket and a rebound away from a double-double finishing the night with 8 points, 9 rebounds, and two steals. Did I mention he did all that in only 15 minutes of action? They used to call players like him a junkyard dog because he’s always around the ball. All we know is that we like him more every time we see him.

We here at the LDN never want to leave out Terrence Shannon, Jr. He is just too special, and we’re glad he chose Illinois. However, he was a little under the weather and it slowed him down just a touch and it gives us a chance to recognize other players. But don’t sleep on his 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. I wished my lines looked like that when I was having what some called an off night-heck I wish my career line looked that good. Suffice it to say that Shannon was solid!

Also, Jayden Epps continues to shine as a freshman. He was 5-for-8 from the field last night for 12 points with 3 steals. Dain Dainja continued his solid contributions with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals for the big fella. Sencire Harris also pitched in 7 points.

Things will really heat up for the Illini if you look at their next four games. They host Syracuse on Tuesday then will play Texas in New York, Maryland on the road, and come back to entertain a tough Penn State club-talk about a gauntlet? Let’s hope we’re hitting on all cylinders and can stack up a bunch more wins!

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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