Freshman forward David Mirkovic piled up 27 points and 21 rebounds to lead No. 14 Illinois to an 84-65 nonconference victory over Colgate on Friday night in Champaign, Ill.
In his fourth college game, Mirkovic produced the school’s first 20-20 game since NBA first-round pick Nick Weatherspoon notched 37 points and 22 rebounds against DePauw on Dec. 2, 1972.
Keaton Wagler provided 19 points for Illinois (4-0) while Kylan Boswell contributed 11 points and four assists and Ben Humrichous scored 10 as Illinois prevailed despite shooting 11 of 37 from 3-point range.
Andrew Alekseyenko paced Colgate (1-3) with 21 points. Jalen Cox added 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
While Illinois dominated the boards from the jump — finishing with a 49-29 rebounding advantage — the perpetual Patriot League contenders weren’t fazed. The Raiders reeled off seven straight points to pull within 19-18 at the 8:35 mark as Cox sank a long jumper before Alekseyenko cashed a 3-pointer and a post move.
Humrichous and Wagler hit back-to-back 3-pointers to restore a 7-point lead, but Colgate forged a 28-28 tie with 4:01 left when Alekseyenko sank a pick-and-roll layup over 7-foot-2 Zvonimir Ivisic.
Then came the first half’s biggest sequence. With the Illini clinging to a 31-28 lead, Andrej Stojakovic was fouled on a drive with 3:05 left and the teams went to their benches for a media timeout. During the break, Illinois asked for a review of Alekseyenko hitting Mirkovic in the face after jousting for a rebound — and Alekseyenko was given a technical.
Stojakovic sank both ends of a 1-and-1, Mirkovic hit the two technical free throws and Boswell capped the 6-point possession with a lefty scoop to give Illinois a 37-28 working margin with 2:39 to go that turned into a 41-30 halftime lead.
Illinois didn’t let Colgate back in the game in the second half as Mirkovic seized control. He drilled a 3-pointer on the half’s first possession to complete his double-double, sank a layup on Illinois’ next possession and racked up 11 points in the first seven minutes. His post-up and layup against Colgate’s zone made it 59-40 with 13:28 to go.
Neither team shot particularly well — the Illini hit only 26 of 69 shots (37.7%), while Colgate managed 26 of 62 (41.9%). However, the teams only committed a total of 12 turnovers — seven for Illinois and five for Colgate.
Illinois played again without starting center Tomislav Ivisic, who has missed three games with a knee injury, and starting point guard Mihailo Petrovic, who has yet to play due to a hamstring issue.
–Field Level Media
