University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
#14 Illinois
Tigers Fall To No. 14 Illinois, 74-64
Dec 13, 2003 | Men's Basketball
By JIM PAUL
Associated Press Writer
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Richard McBride scored 22 points and James Augustine had 21 to lead No. 14 Illinois to a 74-64 win over Memphis on Saturday night.
The Illini (6-2) rode McBride's hot hand from beyond the arc and then pushed the ball inside to their big men during a key 2-minute stretch in the second half to overcome a 10-point first-half deficit. Memphis (4-2) had a five-game winning streak snapped.
McBride, a freshman playing in just his fourth game after serving a four-game suspension for violating team rules, made five 3-pointers.
Illinois, playing without starting guard Deron Williams, won its 21st straight game at Assembly Hall. Williams sat on the bench, the left side of his face swollen from a broken jaw sustained in Thursday's game against Maryland-Eastern Shore.
The lead changed hands five times coming out of halftime and the Illini were up 40-37 with 14:50 to play when they started finding room inside. Three straight baskets, one by Nick Smith and two by Augustine, the last a 3-point play, put the Illini up 47-37 with 13:13 to play.
McBride hit his fourth 3-pointer of the night coming out of the ensuing timeout. Then Augustine hit a layup on a feed from Smith to put the Illini up 52-37 with 12:09 to go.
Rodney Carney led Memphis with 18 points. Antonio Burks scored 16.
Poor shooting was as contagious as the flu in the first half. Illinois fell behind 19-9 with 10:18 left and was 4-of-25 at one point before finishing the half making just nine of 32 shots.
But the Tigers' shooting eyes weren't much better. Memphis made only 11 of 30 shots in the half as its watched a 10-point lead vanish. The Illini tied the score at 21 and Richard McBride's 3-pointer at the buzzer put the Illini up 28-27 at the break.
