Illini Pull Away from Oakland, 64-53

By Jeff Mayfield

[November 10, 2023] 

The Illinois Fighting Illini were a bit sluggish Friday night at home but got things going to take a 28-27 halftime lead on their way to a 64-53 victory over Oakland. The always pesky Grizzlies were limited to only 5 three pointers [out of the 20 they attempted] and the Illini placed 4 players in double figures.

The Illini won the rebounding battle, 36-32 and the assist chart, 13-4. Illinois also shot 47% from the field and only committed 9 turnovers. The Illini closed out the game on a 16-5 run to finish the Golden Grizzlies (16-2 if not for a desperation 3-pointer in the final seconds).

With the win the Illini now have a 2-0 record going into the Gavitt Game/s Tuesday night at the State Farm Center when they will host Marquette University.

3 Stars

#1 Quincy Guerrier

He came up huge when the Illini went big in the 2nd half. The Oregon transfer was efficient for 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. His contributions put the Illini over the top!

#2 Terrance Shannon, Jr.

Seems to always come up big no matter what the team needs. He tallied 15 points and 5 assists and was both a calming influence and a sparkplug when we needed him. But perhaps his biggest help of the night was his stellar defense on the sniper, Jack Gohlke. He suffocated that poor kid only allowing 6 attempted shots, all from distance, and half of them were off-balance because TSJ had snuffed him out!

#3 Dain Dainja

Came off the bench and produced in a big way for Illinois. He completed the night with 10 points on a very solid 5-8 from the field. He also was a force in the paint on defense and by yanking down 7 rebounds!

#3 Ty Rogers

He is just so strong and agile. He ran the point, then sprinted to the end line and was the baseline runner-how many guards can do that? OR, at least as well as Ty can? Not many! He scored 10 points, ran the offense, and kept Oakland from getting anything easy.

Honorable Mention

Coleman Hawkins

We tend to expect our big stars to be electric, on fire, and unstoppable-every night. CH was not that in this contest. But the stats show him for 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Some were saying that he just had an okay night. I wish I had a bunch of okay nights like that!

Marcus Domask

Tossed in 7 points but 5 of them were late when we needed to pull away and put them away. He seems to have the knack of knowing exactly what we need when we need it.

Shoutout

Way to go Lady Railers-Good luck in the Championship Game!

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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