Posted: 12/13/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Aaron Facemire The Daily Illini amar Smith, 31, puts up a shot against Idaho State at Assembly Hall

It took a taped demand from former Illini Brian Cook telling the Assembly Hall crowd to "make some noise," but more than 27 minutes into Thursday's game, the Illini Nation kicked up the energy - just in time to enliven the team, which had fallen to a 43-40 deficit against Idaho State.

Idaho State added another three to pad its lead, but Chester Frazier and Calvin Brock took matters into their own hands, combining for seven points, the lead, and a reason to get the sold-out stadium on its feet.

"I think it was a big victory for us," sophomore guard Calvin Brock said after the game. "I think this is a real game about the toughness and maturity of our team to come out and win like this."

Illinois recovered from there, ultimately winning 71-60 in the team's last game before the Christmas break. But with lead scorer Warren Carter sidelined by injury, the team had to change its strategy, looking for scoring opportunities from guards Chester Frazier and Jamar Smith.

Smith came off the bench to lead the Illini with 21 points and Frazier added 13 as Illinois improved to 12-2 on the season.

"Their depth made a difference," Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien said. "They were able to sub and keep their guards fresh."

Despite jumping to a 7-0 lead at the start, Illinois slumbered through much of the game. Idaho State tied things up at 9-9 before Illinois went on a 15-4 run to regain control of the game. But Idaho State chipped away at the lead, and by halftime the Illini led by just three points.

After not scoring in the first 20 minutes, Fraizer took matters into his own hands in the second half. The point guard sunk a three-pointer with 17:45 left in the game, his first score at home 15 seconds into the Maryland game Nov. 28.

"He has more confidence in his shooting than I do," Weber said. "He wants to make plays, just sometimes he tries to make the biggest play instead of making the easy pass."

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools

The Daily Illini encourages on-topic discussion through article commenting on its articles and blogs. It is our policy not to delete any comments based upon political or ideological point of view. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, off-topic or use excessive foul language.

The posting of copyrighted material, including any and all content for which you are not the author, is illegal under Federal intellectual property laws. Such activity will not be tolerated. Comments containing copyrighted material will be removed, and continued violation of copyright law is grounds for being banned completely from commenting on DailyIllini.com.

If you feel any post meets these conditions or merits review, please e-mail our editors at meonline@dailyillini.com.