Five Illini Score in Double Figures in Dominant Season-Opening Win Over EIU

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois cruised to a 112-67 win in its season opener against Eastern Illinois at State Farm Center on Monday night.

Five different Fighting Illini scorers finished in double figures, including a team-leading 31-point performance from freshman Will Riley.

Scoring the most points by a freshman in an Illini debut, Riley went 10-for-13 from the field, including a stretch of seven consecutive makes in the second half, while going 5-for-6 from 3-point range. 

By halftime, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had equaled his career-high point total, and went on to tally a career-high 21 points. Accounting for the Illini's final 10 points of the first half, Gibbs-Lawhorn hit a career-best four 3-pointers in addition to going 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Tomislav Ivisic registered a double-double in his collegiate debut, tallying 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Ben Humrichous finished with 14 points in his debut with the Orange and Blue, going 5-for-8 from the field while adding two 3-pointers, five rebounds, and one block.

Kasparas Jakucionis totaled 11 points, a team-high seven assists, and five rebounds.

Morez Johnson Jr. tied the freshman record for blocks in a single game, amassing six in his collegiate debut while also hauling in eight rebounds.

Ten Illini recorded at least two points, while the Illini improved to 8-0 in season openers under head coach Brad Underwood.

After a back-and-forth opening few minutes, the Illini started to establish themselves following a 5-0 run from Will Riley. His scoring stretch began a 13-4 Illinois run, which gave the home side a 23-15 advantage at the halfway point in the opening period of play.

Jakucionis then accounted for the Orange and Blue's next six points before the hosts used a 13-2 stretch to take a double-digit lead. Gibbs-Lawhorn registered six points during that run, while Ivisic's and-1 layup capped off the strong stretch of play for the Fighting Illini.

Gibbs-Lawhorn continued his hot start by scoring Illinois' final 10 points of the first half. His back-to-back triples gave the Illini a 16-point edge, their largest of the opening periord, before the Illini went into the break with a 50-35 lead.

Illinois thrived at the free-throw line in the first half, going 23-for-27 from the charity stripe. The Illini also dominated the glass across the opening period, posting a 30-12 rebounding edge.

The Orange and Blue added to their advantage early in the second half, with six different scorers helping Illinois go on a 16-3 run within the first five minutes of the final period.

The Illini's lead continued to grow throughout the second half, with the hosts going on a run of seven out of eight makes from the field to take an 81-48 edge with 11 minutes remaining. 

With Illinois ahead by 32 with seven minutes to go, Riley tallied the Illini's next 12 points while making seven consecutive shots from the field. His 24th point of the night saw the Illini reach the 100-point mark, and he eventually surpassed the 30-point mark with a jumper with three minutes left in the game. 

The Orange and Blue held the Panthers without a field goal for over three minutes to close the game, clinching the 45-point victory.

The Fighting Illini (1-0) return to action on Friday for another in-state clash at State Farm Center vs. SIUE. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT on Peacock.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

POSTGAME NOTES

Player Notes

• Will Riley scored 31 points on 10-for-13 shooting, including 5-for-6 from beyond the arc, to go along with seven rebounds.
  • Set a program record for points by a freshman in an Illini debut.
  • Most points by an Illini freshman in a single game since Giorgi Bezhanishvili had 35 on Feb. 5, 2019, vs. Rutgers.
  • First Big Ten freshman to score at least 30 points since Feb. 25, 2023.
    • First Big Ten freshman to score at least 30 points in their team's season opener since Nov. 12, 2007.
• Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored a career-high 21 points and added two rebounds.
  • Matched his previous career-high with 18 points in the first half on 4-for-6 shooting, including 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
  • Scored the Illini's last 10 points of the first half.
  • Knocked down a career-high four 3-pointers.
  • Went 3-for-4 in the first half from deep.
• Tomislav Ivisic recorded a double-double in his collegiate debut, scoring 14 points and totaling 14 rebounds.
  • Narrowly missed reaching the double-double in the first half with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds at the break.
  • First player to register a double-double in an Illini debut since Dain Dainja did so against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 7, 2022 (17 points, 10 rebounds).
    • First Illini to have at least 14 points and 14 rebounds in a game since Dainja had 20 points and 15 rebounds vs. UMKC on Nov. 11, 2022.
• Ben Humrichous scored 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting and tallied five rebounds.
• Kasparas Jakucionis scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out a game-high seven assists.
  • Went 3-for-4 from the floor, including 1-for-2 from deep.
• Morez Johnson Jr. scored three points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked six shots.
  • His six blocks matched the program record by a freshman.
    • Kofi Cockburn vs. Indiana, March 1, 2020.
    • James Griffin vs. Denver, Nov. 28, 1978.
  • Rejected three shots in the first half of his collegiate debut. 
  • Most blocks in an Illinois debut since at least 1979.

Team Notes

• Starting lineup: Ben Humrichous, Kylan Boswell, Tomislav Ivisic, Tre White, Kasparas Jakucionis
• Ten players made their Illini debuts, including all five starters.
• Ten players scored in the contest, with 11 grabbing at least one rebound.
  • Five players reached double-figures in scoring, with two players scoring at least 20 points.
  • First time since at least 2010-11 with two freshman scoring in double figures in the season opener.
• Illinois' 112 points are the most since scoring 122 vs. North Carolina A&T on Nov. 25, 2020.
  • Ninth time in the Brad Underwood era that the Illini have reached the 100-point mark.
• Illinois improves to 8-0 all-time vs. Eastern Illinois.
• Brad Underwood improves to 8-0 in season openers as head coach at Illinois.
  • Illinois is 106-14 (.883) all-time in season openers.
    • The Illini have won nine straight openers, dating back to 2016.
  • Illinois is 41-2 (.954) all-time when starting the season at State Farm Center.
    • The Illini have won 28 straight games when opening the season at State Farm Center, a streak that dates back to 1993.
• Illinois out-rebounded EIU, 58-28, and also had a 14-6 advantage on o-boards, scoring 26 second-chance points.
  • The Illini won the rebounding battle 31 times last season.
  • Illinois held a 30-12 advantage in the first half, including a 9-3 edge on the offensive glass.
  • The +30 rebounding margin is the most since a +33 mark on Nov. 19, 2023, vs. Southern.
    • Seven players secured at least five boards.
• The Illini went 34-for-46 from the free-throw line.
  • Most makes in a game since also recording 34 on Nov. 10, 2017, against Southern (34-for-37).
  • Illinois went 23-for-27 from the stripe in the first half.
• The Illini bench scored 63 points in the contest compared to 19 such points by the Panthers.
  • Most points the bench has scored in a single game since at least the 2019-20 season.
  • The Illinois bench out-scored its Eastern Illinois counterparts 23-3 in the first half.