Illinois Pulls Away Late For 77-53 Win Over Chicago State

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A late push over the game's final eight minutes helped Illinois defeat Chicago State men's basketball 77-53 at the State Farm Center on Friday (Nov. 22) evening in a non-conference contest.

Chicago State trailed Illinois by four points 55-51 with less than eight minutes remaining following a 3-pointer by senior Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon). However the game changed over the next two and half minutes thanks to 10 consecutive points by Illinois' Jon Ekey. The senior had a pair of 3-pointers and two dunks in the run.

Chicago State started the game slow, watching Illinois jump out to a 12-2 lead. An 8-2 push by the Cougars midway through the first half helped Chicago State advance within a point at 18-17. The final two points came on a Corey Gray (Houston, Texas/Hightower) layup in transition on a nice pass from senior Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg). It was Pippen at the 1:43 mark of the first half hitting a 3-pointer to make it a 28-26 game. Illinois earned some breathing room at halftime with five straight points to make the score at the break 33-26.

After the half, Rayvonte Rice scored five consecutive points to put Illinois up 41-28 and force a Chicago State timeout. Despite the early run the Cougars didn't sink away. A Rosenberg 3-pointer advanced the Cougars within 10 points with less than 12 minutes remaining. Ross then followed with his 3-pointer at the top of the arc to make it 55-51. However the game changed with Ekey's run. It started a 22-2 run by Illinois to close the game.

Rosenberg finished with 16 points. Ross added 13 points. Both had three 3-pointers. Ekey scored a game-high 19 points for the Illini.

"On video we saw that nobody has played a zone for 40 minutes against Illinois," Chicago State head coach Tracy Dildy said. "Late in the game Illinois was able to find ways to attack it."

Illinois improves to 5-0. Chicago State falls to 2-4. The Cougars take nearly a week off before hosting Southern Illinois at the JCC on Saturday (Nov. 30) in a 2 p.m. start. Fans are encouraged to bring a toy or game to donate to the Salvation Army Kroc Community Center as part of the Chicago State Student Athlete Advisory Committee's "Toys for Krocs" drive.