Kansas City Roos vs Illinois Fighting Illini Match Player Stats On Nov 11, 2022

Dain Dainja amassed 20 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots to lift No. 23 Illinois past Kansas City 86-48 on Friday in Champaign, Ill.

It was the second consecutive double-double for Dainja to open the season.

Terrence Shannon Jr. added 14 points and Jayden Epps contributed 13 for the Illini (2-0). Skyy Clark also chipped in with 10.

Shemarri Allen led the Roos (0-3) with 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He was Kansas City's lone player to reach double figures.

The Roos' RayQuawndis Mitchell had only five points on 1-of-14 shooting, including 0-for-7 on 3-pointers.

Kansas City shot just 3-for-21 from 3-point range.

Illinois missed 17 of its first 18 shots but trailed only 9-8 with 11:42 remaining in the first half.

The Illini slowly built its advantage before going up 22-13 with 8:11 left when Epps dropped in consecutive 3-pointers.

Illinois continued with its suffocating defense, and Clark made two free throws with 6:47 left for a 26-13 edge.

Allen responded with a three-point play to close Kansas City within 10.

Epps drove to the basket and scored for a 35-20 lead with 3:59 to go.

Illinois was up 39-23 at halftime despite shooting 12 of 34. Dainja pulled down 12 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

Allen paced the Roos with 10 first-half points on 4-of-9 shooting.

The Illini went ahead 47-27 when Shannon hit a 3-pointer with 16:52 remaining in the second half.

Allen drove to the basket and threw down a dunk with 13:32 left, but Kansas City still trailed 52-34.

Dainja continued to dominate in the low post with a layup for a 58-34 advantage with 12:03 to go.

Kansas City freshman Emmanouil Dimou hit his first career basket, a trey with 8:07 left, to close the gap to 65-42.

Illinois proceeded on a 10-2 run for a commanding 75-44 advantage. The Illini cruised the rest of the way to a victory.

--Field Level Media