DECATUR, Ill. – The Illinois College men's basketball team fought back but ultimately couldn't keep up with Millikin University's 15 made three-pointers on Wednesday afternoon, falling to the Big Blue by a score of 85-76. The loss sends Illinois College to 3-8 overall on the season.
Millikin jumped ahead early with a 13-0 run before
Trae Robinson III finally connected on a jumper to get the Blueboys on the board with more than six minutes gone. That was followed by back-to-back buckets from
Michael Adams as part of a brief 6-0 IC run before a Big Blue three-pointer put the home side back up double-digits.
Still trailing, 28-16, a three-point play by Robinson III off a lob from
Mason Speer helped spur the Blueboys to a strong close to the half. Later on,
Sean McDonald canned a three to slice it to 30-22 and
Riley Mehrens followed with a transition triple to make it 30-25, forcing Millikin into a timeout. In the final 30 seconds of the half, a layup from
Brandon Shaon cut it to 32-28 going to the break.
The Big Blue came out hot in the second half, sinking six of their first seven three-point attempts. Only a few answers from Mehrens allowed Illinois College to keep it close. Twice Mehrens was able to come down following a Millikin triple and respond with one of his own, including a four-point play that made it 43-37.
Despite that, the Big Blue began to eventually pull away. After a
Trevor Otten three-pointer brought the Blueboys again within six at 50-44, Millikin opened up some breathing room with a 7-0 burst to go up by double-digits. By the time Calvin Fisher nailed his fifth three-pointer of the day at the seven-minute mark, the Big Blue had extended to a 21-point lead at 74-53. In the final three minutes, Illinois College made one last push, ending the game with the final 11 points of the day to get to the final margin of 85-76.
Mehrens ended with a team-high 16 points on the afternoon, making five shots from beyond the arc. Adams, McDonald and Robinson III all scored 12 points on the day. Speer tacked on 11 points while supplying a game-high eight assists.
Illinois College concludes non-conference play on Dec. 22, traveling to Naperville, Ill. to take on North Central College at 2 p.m.
