McCamey, Illini get 1st-round win over Stony Brook 76-66
The first time Demetri McCamey touched the ball Wednesday night, Stony Brook forced him into a casual turnover that led to a 3-pointer.
McCamey committed a few more careless miscues, as did a few other Illinois players, but the junior point guard did far more right than wrong in his NIT debut.
McCamey finished 1 rebound shy of the second triple-double in school history as the top-seeded Illini wore down the Seawolves 76-66 at Stony Brook Arena.
"He said he didn't play well, but he almost had a triple-double," said relieved Illinois coach Bruce Weber on his postgame radio show. "Almost a quadruple-double when you count the (6) turnovers."
McCamey finished with 17 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds and 4 steals in 40 minutes to pace Illinois (20-14) to a solid road win after a dreadful start.
Red-clad Stony Brook students packed the 5,000-seat gym for the school's first postseason and national-television appearances. The Seawolves fed off the frenzy for a 7-0 lead in the opening two minutes.
After seeing McCamey's initial turnover and the first of several lazy passes by junior forward Mike Davis, Weber called a timeout at that juncture to ratchet up the intensity level.
"I don't think we understood how hard they were going to play," Weber said. "We talked about (losing to) Western Kentucky last year. These guys, they don't understand it was the game of their life."
Stony Brook shooting guard Bryan Dougher nailed 15 of his 21 points in the first half to keep the hosts in the game.
Illinois didn't take the lead for good until McCamey ran down the clock and nailed a 17-foot fadeaway at the halftime buzzer.
McCamey and Mike Tisdale (15 points) opened the second half with 3-pointers as the Illini never let Stony Brook (22-10) get closer than 5 points again.
Bill Cole and Brandon Paul led a collective defensive effort against America East player of the year Muhammad El-Amin. The senior swingman managed 16 points but shot 6 of 20 from the field.
Davis hit several open jumpers to pace Illinois with 17 points. Tisdale, who went 2 of 2 from 3-point range for the second game in a row, and freshman guard D.J. Richardson added 15 points apiece.
Illinois' first NIT win since 1982 set the stage for a second-round home game Monday against MAC regular-season champ Kent State (24-9).
If the Illini defeat the Golden Flashes, who are led by former Farragut standout Chris Singletary (12.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.2 apg), they'll host the Dayton-Cincinnati winner Wednesday.