No. 24 Illinois cruises past Chicago State 117-64 behind Kylan Boswell's triple-double

Dec 30, 2024, 08:45 am

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- — Kylan Boswell had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and Tomislav Ivisic scored 23 points to lead No. 24 Illinois to a 117-64 victory over winless Chicago State on Sunday.

Boswell was one assist shy of his first triple-double and got it with a pass that set up Keaton Kutcher’s 3-pointer with 1:47 left. It was the seventh triple-double in program history.

Dre Gibbs-Lawhorn scored 16 points, Kasparas Jakucionis had 14, Will Riley had 13 and Morez Johnson Jr. had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Illini (9-3).

Gabe Spinelli, son of first-year Chicago State coach Scott Spinelli, led the Cougars (0-15) with 20 points and Noble Crawford scored 15.

Illinois led 60-24 at halftime and built its lead to as many as 58 points in the second half.

Takeaways

Illinois: This wasn’t much of a test for the Illini, who were facing a winless team that doesn’t have a player averaging in double figures and gives up 83 points per game. But it gave them a chance to shake off the rust from having a week off following their Braggin’ Rights win over Missouri on Dec. 21.

Chicago State: It was another bad day for the Cougars, who were outrebounded 47-23, committed 15 turnovers and shot 37%. On a positive note, they were 4 for 4 at the free-throw line.

Key moment

A 14-point run over a 2 1/2-minute stretch early in the first half extended an 8-7 Illinois lead to 22-7 and propelled the Illini to the lopsided win.

Key stat

The Illini shoot a lot of 3s. They came into the day averaging 32 per game, No. 6 in the nation, and went 15 for 33.

Up next

Illinois plays Thursday at No. 9 Oregon. Chicago State plays Friday at Wagner.

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