Illinois Basketball: Stojavovic and Coleman Power Rout of Penn
The No. 3 ranked Illini defeated the Quakers 112-70 on Thursday, extending their winning streak to two games despite the absence of two key starters.
By Bianca Herrera ·
The University of Illinois men's basketball team entered Thursday's contest against Penn with a 1-0 start to the season and a number three national ranking. The Illini maintained that position with a decisive 112-70 win over the Quakers at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
Andrej Stojavovic led the scoring effort with 25 points, while Quentin Coleman contributed 19. Coleman accounted for 15 of those points in the second half alone. Zavier Zens added 18 points, and Ethan Brown recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lincoln Williams recorded 12 points and nine rebounds in his collegiate debut, and Stefan Vaaks finished with 11 points.
Illinois dominated the boards, outrebounding Penn 62-33. The team shot 59 percent from the field, converting 43 of 73 attempts. The Illini built a substantial early advantage, leading 53-30 at halftime. Stojavovic scored 21 points in the first half, and Illinois outscored Penn 30-8 during a stretch of 10 minutes and 22 seconds to secure the victory.
The victory marks Illinois' second triple-digit win of the season. The team defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 120-45 on Monday. For Penn, Michael Zanoni scored 16 points and Lucas Lueth added 14 points along with three blocked shots. The Quakers fall to 0-1 on the year.
Illinois played without returning starters David Mirkovic and Jake Davis. Mirkovic is recovering from foot surgery performed in August and an appendectomy on Saturday. Davis suffered a separated shoulder during the Fairleigh Dickinson game and underwent surgery on Wednesday. Both players are out indefinitely.
Penn enters the season as the Ivy League preseason favorite. The Quakers have four returning starters and seven of their top nine scorers from the previous year, which ended with an NCAA Tournament berth. Fran McCaffery, who coached at Iowa for 15 years, is in his second season with Penn. Illinois held a 16-11 record against McCaffery during his tenure at Iowa.
Penn hosts Howard on Monday. Illinois travels to face No. 19 Texas Tech on Tuesday.
