Shorthanded Illinois rolls over W. Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Dee Brown had 23 points and five assists to lead depleted No. 12 Illinois to a 94-66 victory in its season opener Saturday night against Western Illinois.
Five Illini hit double figures on a night when Illinois had only 10 players available. Luther Head, Aaron Spears and Richard McBride spent the game on the bench, serving suspensions for violating team rules.
Brown hit four 3-pointers -- three of them in the first half -- as the Illini built a 37-9 lead in the first 14 minutes and were never threatened.
The Illini started the second half with a 16-6 run to build a 65-34 lead and were able to keep the spread at about 30 points throughout most of the second half.
Roger Powell added 14 points, Nick Smith 13 and James Augustine 12 for the Illini, who hit 52 percent of their shots and were 7-22 from behind the 3-point line. Deron Williams added 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Western Illinois (0-3) shot only 37 percent and committed 18 turnovers. Doyle Cole led the Leathernecks with 16 points and Bobby Carter scored 14.
The Illini led 37-9 with 5:59 left in the first half before the Leathernecks put together a 12-2 run with T.J. Gray and Will Lewis hitting 3-pointers.
Western Illinois outscored Illinois 16-12 to finish the half and was down 49-28 at the break.