No. 11 FAU falls to No. 20 Illinois 98-89 in Jimmy V Classic

NEW YORK — Marcus Domask scored 33 points and Terrance Shannon Jr. had 31, both career highs, as No. 20 Illinois shot 63% and surged ahead in the second half for a 98-89 victory over No. 11 Florida Atlantic in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night.

Playing in this event for the second consecutive year, the Fighting Illini (7-1) won their fifth straight game thanks to Domask and Shannon, who combined for 47 points after halftime and 25 of 35 from the field.

Domask shot 15 of 21 and surpassed his previous career high of 32 points set Jan. 29 for Southern Illinois at Illinois State. Shannon went 10 for 14 and also hit nine of 11 free throws.

Vladislav Goldin scored a career-best 23 points before fouling out in the final minute for Florida Atlantic (7-2), which made its first appearance at Madison Square Garden since beating Tennessee and Kansas State in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament in March to reach its first Final Four.

Johnell Davis added 19 points as the Owls shot 48%.

Coelman Hawkins returned to the starting lineup for the Illini after missing three games with a knee injury. The senior forward had six points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes.

BIG PICTURE

Florida Atlantic: The Owls have been inconsistent on defense this season. They’ve held opponents under 70 points in five games, but allowed at least 80 three times. They gave up 86 in a five-point win over Butler on Nov. 23 and 89 in a seven-point victory against Texas A&M a day later.

Illinois: Rebounding was a major strength until Tuesday, when the Illini were outrebounded 28-26 and gave up 12 offensive boards. Illinois outrebounded Rutgers 55-28 in its Big Ten opener Saturday.

UP NEXT

FAU will host Florida International on Dec.13.