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October 31, 2009

McCamey keys Illini past Lions 95-67

From staff reports

sports@joplinglobe.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — No. 23-ranked Illinois broke away in the final four minutes of the first half and beat Missouri Southern 95-67 Friday night in a men’s basketball exhibition game in Assembly Hall.

Demetri McCamey, 6-foot-3 junior guard, made 5-of-8 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws for 16 points to lead five players in double figures. He also collected seven assists, four rebounds, three steals and had three turnovers in 23 minutes.

“He’s a very talented player who has a chance to be a great pro,” Lions head coach Robert Corn said on his postgame radio show.

Missouri Southern junior guard Skyler Bowlin, despite picking up two quick fouls, captured game honors with 17 points, hitting 5-12 from the floor, 2-of-5 from 3-point range and 5-of-9 at the foul line.

“Skyler getting in foul trouble hurt us late in the first half,” Corn said. “If he had been in the game, they might not have gone on such a big run at the end of the half. He’s the guy who when you’re struggling to get the ball in the basket, he has the ability to take the ball to the basket or get to the free throw line.”

Guard Patrick Hester made both of his 3-point attempts and contributed 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench.

“Patrick has really elevated his game,” Corn said. “If he continues playing like that, he can give us a huge boost off the bench. He gave us a spark tonight.”

The Lions didn’t make a field goal and fell behind 19-1 in the first eight minutes before Bowlin hit a floater in the lane. But during the next eight minutes, the Lions went on a 23-13 burst and whittled the deficit to 32-24 on Rich Borries’ layup with four minutes left in the half.

“Basically we got more aggressive at both ends of the floor,” Corn said. “We started getting more aggressive on defense, and we started taking things to the basket and were able to get to the free-throw line. We were getting better looks at the basket.”

But in the final four minutes of the half, the Illini outscored the Lions 17-4 to open a 49-28 halftime advantage.

“I think they are things we can build on,” Corn said. “In spurts we played some good basketball. Obviously we got off to a bad start, couldn’t make a basket in the first eight minutes, but once we scored, it seemed like we became a little more aggressive. We were too timid early, not taking the ball to the basket, and we were fouling too much.”

The Lions hit 35 percent from the field (22-of-63) compared to Illinois’ 52 percent (33-of-63). The Lions shot better from long range, connecting on 8-of-22 3-point attempts while Illinois was 3-of-15.

Illinois owned a a 47-35 rebounding advantage behind 7-foot-1 Mike Tisdale’s nine boards. The Lions had 24 turnovers, five more than the Illini.

“They converted a lot of our turnovers into easy baskets,” Corn said, “and they killed us on the boards. They had us outmanned at every position. Part of it was their athletic ability, and part of it was our inability to box out.”

Illinois’ highly-touted freshman recruits made contributions. D.J. Richardson hit 5-of-8 shots and had 14 points and three steals in 19 minutes. Brandon Paul added 13 points, five rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes, and Tyler Griffey and Joseph Bertrand had six points apiece.

The Lions play another exhibition game Nov. 14 at home against Livin’ The Dream. Tipoff is at 3 p.m.

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