North Carolina A&T Aggies vs Illinois Fighting Illini Match Player Stats On Dec 29, 2019

Kofi Cockburn scored a career-high 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting and Ayo Dosunmu added 19 points to boost host Illinois to a 95-64 victory against North Carolina A&T on Sunday afternoon at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

Illinois (9-4) rode 52.9-percent shooting (36-for-68) to win for the third time in four games. The Fighting Illini led by as many as 34 points down the stretch after pulling away with a 23-9 run midway through the second half.

North Carolina A&T (3-11) had three players in double figures, led by Tyler Maye and Devin Haygood, who scored 12 apiece. Ronald Jackson added 10 points for the Aggies, who shot 24-for-52 (46.2 percent) from the floor.

Alan Griffin and Andres Feliz scored 18 and 11 points, respectively, to round out a balanced attack from Illinois. Cockburn grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, and the Illini doled out 22 assists.

Illinois shot 20-for-36 (55.6 percent) in the first half and took a 50-34 lead into halftime. The Aggies stayed afloat in the early going behind 5-for-9 accuracy from long range after taking the first lead of the game on a Jackson fast-break dunk at the 19:35 mark.

A trey from Harry Morice with 9:37 remaining in the first half brought North Carolina A&T to within 22-19, but Illinois responded with a 19-4 run over the next 5:23 to seize control. The surge included three 3-pointers from the Illini, including a pair by Trent Frazier. Kipper Nichols started the run with a dunk on the fast break.

The Fighting Illini outrebounded the Aggies 39-28 while outscoring them 48-30 in the paint. Illinois has won the battle under the boards in 10 of its 13 games. Illinois has forced 53 turnovers over the last three games.

Sunday marked the first meeting between the schools.

--Field Level Media