Illinois too much for WMU, drop Broncos 88-53

By Adam Debrowski
Western Herald

(Michael Stein/The Daily Illini) Illinois guard Demetri McCamey goes up for a layup while being contested by WMU senior guard David Kool (23).

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois Fighting Illini have won 10 consecutive non-conference games at home. Seeing as the Western Michigan University men’s basketball team is not part of the Big Ten Conference and doesn’t reside in Champaign, Ill., the chips were stacked against them.

The Broncos (3-4) fell to the Illini 88-53 Sunday afternoon at Assembly Hall in Champaign.

After leading 6-5 early in the game, the Illini sparked a 19-2 run that allowed only two Bronco points in over five minutes of game time. At halftime, Illinois led the Broncos 48-25, holding WMU to a dismal 1-for-14 from beyond the arc.

Although the Broncos were able to muster up more points and a better overall field goal percentage in the second half, Illinois outscored them by 12 and cruised to a 25-point victory in front of the home crowd.

Bronco forward Flenard Whitfield led all scorers, notching a career-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Donald Lawson continued his streak of eight rebounds or more, grabbing six offensive and three defensive boards to lead the Broncos on the glass.

Starters David Kool and Martelle McLemore had rare off-nights from the field, shooting a combined 6-for-24. Kool only managed to connect on a single three-pointer, four days after hitting a career-high eight against Eastern Illinois University Wednesday.

Illinois led a balanced offensive attack, with four players in double-digit scoring. Senior forward Dominique Keller led the Illini, scoring 15 points in only 16 minutes. Mike Davis and D.J. Richardson scored 12 apiece for the Illini.

The Broncos will return home for a Saturday matchup with Kennesaw State University at University Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Dec 13 2009. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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