National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Illinois 64, Cornell 60
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, December 19, 2011
Where: Assembly Hall, Champaign, Illinois
Officials: # Brian Dorsey, # Mike Eades, # Jim Schippers
Attendance: 13578

Meyers Leonard had 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead Illinois to a 64-60 victory over visiting Cornell on Monday.

Illinois (11-1) avenged its first loss of the season to UNLV last weekend and extended its home non-conference winning streak to 15 games.

The 7-foot-1 Leonard dominated inside while showing his soft touch around the hoop, getting off to a fast start in the first half. He was 7-of-8 for 15 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Cornell (4-5) was paced by Josh Figini, who scored 14 of the Big Red’s 32 first-half points. He knocked down three 3-pointers to put Cornell ahead early but went cold in the second half and failed to find the basket.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from D.J. Richardson, who went 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, pushed Illinois ahead 50-48 at the 7:00 mark. Richardson knocked down another huge jumper in the closing seconds to seal the win for the Fighting Illini, and finished with 17 points. Brandon Paul was also clutch in the second half, scoring 15 points.

Cornell’s Chris Wroblewski dropped two 3-pointers to keep things close down the stretch and finished with 10 points.

Illinois’ size dominated inside, outrebounding the Big Red 39-24. The Illini had 13 offensive boards.

Cornell starting point guard Miles Asafo-Adjei was hospitalized with a lower-leg infection before the game.
Top Game Performances
 
Cornell   Illinois
Josh Figini 14 Scoring Meyers Leonard 19
Galal Cancer 4 Assists Sam Maniscalco 6
Chris Wroblewski 6 Rebounds Meyers Leonard 16
Josh Figini 3 Free Throws Made Brandon Paul 6
Galal Cancer 3 Steals Myke Henry 1
Shonn Miller 2 Blocks Meyers Leonard 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cornell 60 39.3 10-23 6-11 12 24 3 7 10
Illinois 64 42.1 7-21 9-13 17 39 5 3 14