National Basketball Association
Illinois 67, Loyola-Chicago 49
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, November 11, 2011
Where: Assembly Hall-ILL, Champaign, Illinois
Officials:
# Glenn Mayborg, # Jim Schippers, # Ted Valentine
Attendance:
15937
By SportsDirect Inc.
Meyers Leonard came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points and Illinois used an 8-0 run early in the second half to break open a close game en route to a 67-49 victory over visiting Loyola-Chicago on Friday.
Illinois won its 13th straight opener and spoiled the coaching debut of Loyola's Porter Moser, an Illinois native.
Leonard, a 7-foot 1 sophomore center Meyers Leonard, also had a career-high six of Illinois' 13 blocked shots and shot 7-for-10 from the field. The Illinois' defense was strong throughout, forcing 22 turnovers.
Illinois led 28-23 with 17:54 remaining before increasing their lead to 36-23. The Illini shot 50 percent from the field in the second half.
Brandon Paul, who has come off the bench the past two seasons, added 14 points for Illinois while Tyler Griffey scored 10.
Walt Gibler scored a game-high 19 points for Loyola (0-1).
Top Game Performances
| Loyola-Chicago |
|
Illinois |
|
Walt Gibler 19 |
Scoring |
Meyers Leonard 15 |
|
Denzel Brito 6 |
Assists |
Sam Maniscalco 3 |
|
Walt Gibler 6 |
Rebounds |
Tracy Abrams 7 |
|
Walt Gibler 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Brandon Paul 3 |
|
Ben Averkamp 1 |
Steals |
D.J. Richardson 3 |
|
N/A |
Blocks |
Meyers Leonard 6 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Loyola-Chicago
|
49 |
35.3 |
4-14 |
9-14 |
11 |
24 |
0 |
1 |
|
| Illinois
|
67 |
47.5 |
6-21 |
5-9 |
9 |
31 |
13 |
10 |
|