Keller, Frazier give Illini needed spark over Hawaii

CHAMPAIGN - Dominique Keller shoots fast and talks faster.

And when the junior-college transfer from Texas senses one of his teammates being treated unfairly, he moves even more quickly to defend him.

Keller and Chester Frazier scored 14 points apiece to lead Illinois to a 68-58 victory over Hawaii on Monday at Assembly Hall.

Demetri McCamey added a career-high-tying 11 assists for the Illini (8-1), who led by 21 with eight minutes to go.

While Keller piled up his points in just 15 minutes off the bench, Frazier drilled 4 consecutive 3-pointers in the first half to give Illinois a comfortable lead.

Since Frazier entered the game as a career 28 percent shooter from 3-point range, he received a few questions about his unexpected fortune.

After cracking up Frazier and McCamey moments earlier with his rapid-fire answers - "I need a commercial break," McCamey joked - Keller switched into serious mode to throw a question back in the interviewer's face.

"I think Chester struggled shooting last year, but he's really the leader of our team and he's an inspiration," Keller said. "So I don't think it's funny when people try to come at him and give him a hard time for missing shots.

"If it wasn't for Chester, we probably wouldn't have won half the games we played already. - I've seen him in practice every day. He shoots just as well as anybody."

Keller's impassioned defense of Illinois' senior guard certainly surpassed the emotion the Illini showed during the game.

Criticized by coach Bruce Weber for their lollygagging during shootaround and warmups, the Illini fell behind 7-0.

"I'll be honest," Weber said. "I was happy we didn't start good."

They wound up blowing away the Rainbow Warriors (3-3) thanks to 22 turnovers and Frazier's hot shooting, but their lack of emotion was reflected on the glass.

Illinois set a school record for fewest rebounds at Assembly Hall as Hawaii dominated the boards by a 43-14 count.

"That's got to be some kind of record to win the game and lose by 29 on the boards," Weber said. "And they had more offensive rebounds (18) than we had total."

"I think we just got punked," Frazier said. "They basically ran four or five guys at the rim and we couldn't box out and couldn't get a rebound. I'm sure we'll get to a lot of boxout drills tomorrow in practice."

Illinois plays Chicago State on Wednesday for its sixth game in 11 days.