Illini Drown Sharks

CHAMPAIGN - In a game that nobody expected to be close, the Illini made quick work of the Long Island Sharks on Saturday afternoon and won the contest in a landslide, 98-58. Andrej Stojakovic was an offensive machine once again, posting 20 points in 25 minutes on the floor and leading the scoring column for Illinois. Freshman standout Keaton Wagler was right at his heels with 19 points of his own. The Illini shot 63.1% from the field, their best shooting performance thus far in the season. 

Illinois came out just a bit sluggish to start the game, allowing LIU to jump out to a 4-0 lead. They’d cut the lead to 8-7 just 4 minutes into the half before going on a 19-2 run and taking complete control of the contest. The Illini held the Sharks without a field goal in that 5-minute span. Illinois would score 16 unanswered points to close out the half with a 54-19 lead.

The second half was more of the same as the Illini opened the period on a 16-5 run, pushing the lead to 70-24 with 14 minutes to go. Long Island would go to work and cut into the deficit to make it 91-58 but that was as close as they would get as Illinois would walk away with the 98-58 victory. The Illini outrebounded the Sharks 40-22 and converted 13 offensive boards into second chance points.

With the win, the Illini improve to 5-1 and will take on Texas-Rio Grand Valley tonight at 7pm. 

Video Recap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCV3hPxKETg