Hill leads Illinois past Austin Peay

Posted November 21, 2014 12:01 am

Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN - Malcolm Hill led Illinois with a career-high 16 points and added six rebounds in a 107-66 victory over Austin Peay on Friday.

In the first game of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational, the Illini cruised for much of the night.

A 13-2 run midway through the first half pushed the Illini's (3-0) lead to double-digits and Austin Peay (1-3) never threatened in the second half. Five players reached double figures for Illinois.

Illinois started slowly and scored just six points in the game's first five minutes. The Illini relied on a barrage of threes offensively, hitting seven in the first half and 14 for the game.

Rayvonte Rice scored 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting, while Kendrick Nunn was 4-for-4 on 3-pointers, finishing with 14 points for Illinois.

Chris Horton led Austin Peay with 13 points.

Illinois was able to limit Austin Peay's strong frontcourt. Chris Horton and Chris Freeman each averaged over 16 points per game entering the contest but were stifled for much of the game. Freeman added six points on 1-of-7 shooting.

It marks the first time this season that Horton didn't reach double figures scoring.

For the second straight game, it was the Illinois offense that lit up the scoreboard. The Illini posted 114 points in a victory over Coppin State last Sunday. The last time the Illini hit the century mark in back-to-back games was in December 1993.

Illinois shot 56 percent from deep and 59.7 percent overall. Illinois is shooting 50 percent as a team from 3-point range this season.

For the second consecutive game, Hill set a career-high in points after scoring 13 points against Coppin State last Sunday.

TIP-INS

Austin Peay: Austin Peay is 0-3 this season when shooting over 40 percent as a team. In their lone win against Berea, the Governors shot 37.5 percent.

Illinois: The Illini are the only team in the country to be undefeated in November over the last four years after Syracuse lost to California yesterday. Illinois is 29-0 over that span.

UP NEXT

Austin Peay will play at Indiana State on Monday.

Illinois will host Brown on Monday.

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