NEW YORK — Crumpled programs and abandoned ticket stubs scattered the floor of sections 34 through 36 — the Illini fan section — at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
It took an extra five minutes of game time, but in the end Illinois picked up its first loss of the season, 90-84, to Texas in the semifinal round of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs Cancer.
“After all was said and done, they punked us, they probably outplayed us,” Weber said. “Even after all of that, we still had our chances and could have easily won the game.”
After eight lead changes in the first half, the Illini and Longhorns headed into halftime tied at 45-45. Demetri McCamey and Brandon Paul carried the load in the first period, each scoring 12 points. But by the end of the night, the Illini’s 54 percent shooting percentage from the first half would shrink to 39 percent, and Paul would not register another point.
Illinois started the first 3:47 of the second half without a point, allowing the Longhorns to jump out on a 9-0 run.
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“We just couldn’t get any stops,” sophomore D.J. Richardson said. “They were pushing the ball down our throats and getting to the free throw line.”
Davis finished the game with eight points, and Tisdale scored seven but fouled out with 6:44 left in the second half.
“It was pretty big (that Tisdale fouled out),” Richardson said. “He’s one of our star players, one of our best players. But we still are a team and we still have other talent on the team.”
McCamey engineered a comeback, finishing with 22 points and six assists. With a minute remaining and the teams tied 73-73, the Longhorns’ Corey Joseph put Texas up a basket with 24 seconds left. In response, Illinois’ Jereme Richmond dribbled up the court and hit a shot with seven seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime.
“It was supposed to go to Demetri, and they denied him, and we were running a triple for D.J.,” Weber said. “They all ran with it. Jereme made a nice read and got to the basket and gave us a chance.”
The Longhorns opened the five-minute overtime with an 8-0 run.
This time, Illinois couldn’t play catch up.
“The difference in the game really is the first five minutes of the second half and then the overtime,” Weber said.
“We said in overtime we had to get off to a good start, and they got the jump. Now you’re chasing and you don’t have the time to catch up like you did in the other two halves.”
