Final Stats

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - With the score tied at 59 with just under eight minutes to play, the University of Illinois used a 10-0 run to pull away from the visiting Catamounts of Western Carolina University Saturday afternoon in route to an 80-68 victory inside the State Farm Center. Senior Mike Brown led WCU with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting including hitting three from downtown.

Brown also led with five assists, four steals and five rebounds for a complete game performance. Freshman Elijah Pughsley had another five 3-pointer game, his third of the season, as he finished second on the team in scoring with 15 points. Senior Rhett Harrelson was WCU's final double-digit scorer with 14 points as he nailed three from long range and was 4-of-9 from the floor.

Senior Torrion Brummitt battled inside all day long and finished with eight points and five rebounds. Senior Justin Browning also had his hands full in the post as he finished with six points and a pair of steals.

The Fighting Illini had the majority of their scoring come from a pair of student-athletes. Kendrick Nunn came off the bench to score a game-high 27 points while forward Michael Finke stretched the floor and finished with 24 points and six rebounds.

Illinois used a 34-21 advantage in rebounds to limit WCU's possessions. Both team's had double-digit turnovers with the Illini holding a 19-16 edge.

Both teams shot the ball well as WCU hit 43.8 percent of its attempts from the floor while the Fighting Illini hit 52.8 percent. The Catamounts were 11-24 from 3-point range and Illinois hit 7-of-18.

The loss drops WCU's record to 3-5 on the year as the Catamounts continue to search for their first road win of the year. Illinois improves to 4-5 overall.

WCU went toe-to-toe with the Fighting Illini and kept the Illinois lead to single digits for most of the game. The Catamounts lone lead came at the 18:48 mark of the first half as Brown hit an old-fashioned 3-point play to give WCU a 3-2 lead. The Illini quickly retook the lead but it would stay to single digits until the 5:38 mark of the period while a 3-pointer by Finke gave Illinois a 33-21 advantage. The Catamounts cut the lead down to 10 and then used a 7-2 run to close out the half trailing 39-34.

After a jumper by Harrelson to open the scoring in the second half, Illinois went on a 7-0 run to open up its first double-digit lead of the second half at 46-36. Just over two minutes later the Catamounts would respond with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 50 with 12:39 to play. Brown hit a pair of 3-pointers in the run while Pughsley had one.

The Fighting Illini eventually built their lead back up to seven but another run by the Catamounts tied the game at 59 with just 7:58 to play. Brown, Harrelson and Pughsley all hit triples to spur the run. Illinois answered once again with a 10-0 run that gave the hosts a 69-59 lead with just under three minutes to play.

The Catamounts tried to respond but were unable to get closer than eight points to Illinois as the Fighting Illini hit their free throws down the stretch.

WCU will now take a week off for final exams of the fall semester before traveling to former Southern Conference rival Davidson on Saturday, Dec. 12 for a 7 pm game. The match-up is part of the 2015 Gotham Classic.