Hawkins has triple-double, No. 16 Illinois thumps Syracuse

Coleman Hawkins had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and No. 16 Illinois thumped Syracuse 73-44 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night in Champaign.

Neither team shot well, but Illinois (6-1) hit 6 of its 15 3-point attempts in the second half to send the Orange (3-4) home with their third straight loss.

Terrence Shannon Jr. had 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting for the Illini. All of his makes were 3s. RJ Melendez scored 15 points.

Jesse Edwards had 9 points and 17 rebounds to lead Syracuse, and Judah Mintz also scored nine.

Hawkins sent a lively crowd into a frenzy by securing his 10th rebound to complete the triple-double with 1:34 to go and Illinois up 68-44.

Syracuse collapsed in the final stretch, missing 9 of its last 10 shots and failing to score in the final 3:19.

Benny Williams picked up two quick technical fouls in the final minute to become the second Orange player to get thrown out of a game this week. Mintz was ejected from a 1-point loss to Bryant on Saturday.

Illinois shot 35.8% and went 11 of 39 from 3-point range, while holding Syracuse to 27.8% shooting and 5 of 17 from long distance.

Syracuse led early before Shannon hit back-to-back 3s to push Illinois ahead 23-18 during a 9-0 solo scoring run.

Illinois took a 30-23 lead into the half despite a 5-of-24 effort from 3-point range, partly thanks to 8 points from Jayden Epps off the bench. Epps finished with 11 points.

Syracuse went scoreless for the last 4:55 of the first half after a dunk by Mounir Hima pulled the Orange within 3 points.

Next up for Illinois: They begins Big Ten play on Friday at No. 22 Maryland.