Illini wrap up 3-1 visit to Hawaii with victory

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- One smarting leg for Brian Randle, one giant leap for Illinois.

The Fighting Illini rolled to a 65-49 victory over Oklahoma State in Wednesday's Maui Invitational third-place game, despite losing their leading scorer and defender with the score stuck at 2-2.

Junior guard Trent Meacham, benched in favor of Calvin Brock, scored 8 of his game-high 17 points in the first half to lead the Illini to a 30-17 margin at intermission.

Brock added 12 points and 7 rebounds as Illinois (4-1) never led by fewer than 8 points the rest of the way.

Illinois held Oklahoma State to 30 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Cowboys by 11.

"We did it today without, really, Shaun (Pruitt) and Brian, our two best guys," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber.

While Pruitt sat out the final 15 minutes of the first half with 2 fouls, Randle left for good with 13:22 left in the half when Oklahoma State's Marcus Dove accidentally kneed him in the left leg as he drove to the basket.

The injury-prone fifth-year senior appeared to be in intense pain initially, but Weber calmed fears afterward.

"I don't exactly know the term, but it's like when you hit your elbow, your funny bone and you go numb," Weber said. "Well, there's a nerve in the calf or somewhere down that way, and he hit it. He had no feeling in his foot. It was totally numb.

"I think Brian was afraid at first, he thought maybe it was broken. He had no idea. But it was good for our other guys."

Illinois, which went 3-1 on its six-day trip to Hawaii, broke away from Oklahoma State (2-3) largely because of its subs.

With the score still 2-2 seven minutes into the game, Meacham fed Demetri McCamey for a jumper, nailed a 19-footer and then hit a 3-pointer to give Illinois the lead for good at 9-7.

Then, Meacham ripped the ball from Oklahoma State point guard Byron Eaton, dribbled the length of the court and fed Rodney Alexander for a ferocious 2-handed dunk.

Freshman big men Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale and Bill Cole each kicked in contributions as Illinois' reserves outscored OSU's entire team 19-17 in the first half.

"You had to win with depth," said Weber, whose team played three games in a 43-hour stretch. "It was going to be important on this trip, and that's what we did."

The Cowboys pulled within 37-29 five minutes into the second half, but Meacham swished a 3-pointer in transition and added a pair of free throws to put the Illini ahead by double digits for good.

Meacham hadn't scored in double figures since posting 12 points at Minnesota on Jan. 17. He hit just 1-for-7 shots Tuesday night against Duke.

"I told Trent before the game, 'I'm going to take you out of the lineup. Calvin's been a nice spark,' " Weber said. " 'I just want you to relax.' And it was great. He came out and made some big shots for us -- and we needed points because we were struggling."

Illinois flies home tonight and gets a day off before preparing for Tuesday's ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at Maryland.