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Illini Open Tour of Spain with 84-73 Victory Over Madrid All-Stars … – Fighting Illini
August 6, 2023 | Men's Basketball
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MADRID – After arriving in Spain on Saturday, Illinois took the court on Sunday for its opening game against the Madrid All-Stars. Following an expected slow start and despite an off-shooting night, the Illini relied on their defense to spark a second-half comeback and claim an 84-73 victory.
Three Illini scored in double figures, led by junior Dain Dainja‘s 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Dainja also controlled the glass, grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds for a double-double. Sophomore Sencire Harris gave the Illini a huge defensive lift in the second half and finished with 14 points and game-high five steals. Senior Terrence Shannon Jr. added 12 points and four assists.
Similar to Illinois’ last international trip four years ago, Head Coach Brad Underwood is appointing an assistant to serve as acting coach for each game of the tour. Assistant Tim Anderson directed the Illini against Madrid. Illinois also will experiment with numerous lineups and rotations throughout the trip and share playing time. The Illini had 11 players log double-digit minutes against Madrid, with no player exceeding 23. Sophomore walk-on AJ Redd, a former team manager, earned the start against Madrid in recognition for a summer in which his teams posted the highest winning percentage in scrimmages as part of skill workouts.
After a tight first half that saw the Illini leading 39-37, Madrid opened the second half on a 19-3 run to open up a 56-42 lead. Illinois then turned up its defense with the unit of Dainja, Harris, junior Luke Goode, senior Justin Harmon, and freshman Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn leading the charge. The UI scored 10 unanswered as part of a 17-5 finish to the third quarter to pull within two.
Illinois carried that momentum right into the fourth, scoring the first 10 points. Harris opened with an and-1 and went coast-to-coast for a layup on the next possession to put the Illini ahead by three, and the lead pushed to eight on a Harmon layup, Gibbs-Lawhorn free throw, and Shannon runner. The Illini extended the lead to 11 soon after, and led by double figures the rest of the way.
“This was the type of game I expected, and I’m proud of our team for how they responded,” Underwood said. “We were coming off the long trip over and hadn’t done any shooting for a few days, so I knew it would be a slow start. Turnovers and fouling had more to do with the way we found ourselves down than our shooting. But I really like what I saw with the way we fought back. Dain took over in the second half and I liked the spark we got from the group that included him, Buck (Sencire), Luke, Dra and Justin. Buck changed some games for us last year with his effort, and you saw that same thing tonight. His energy is contagious.”
Prior to the game, Illinois went on a sightseeing tour of Toledo. The Illini will stay one more day in Madrid, with a tour of the Royal Palace set for Monday, before taking the train to Valencia on Tuesday. Illinois’ next game is Wednesday night vs. Valencia.
