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CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) -- Behind Preseason All-America Frank Williams, second-ranked Illinois crushed Eastern Illinois, 93-53, in the Las Vegas Invitational to remain perfect against the Panthers. Williams, the Big Ten Player of the Year last season, scored 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the romp. Freshman Luther Head added 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Damir Krupalija added 12 for Illinois. Three days after defeating Gonzaga by 18 points in their season opener, the Fighting Illini jumped out to a 35-13 lead with 6:26 remaining in the first half and cruised thereafter. Illinois led, 48-23, at halftime. The Illini, who won their 20th straight game at Assembly Hall, held the Panthers to just 7-of-31 shooting (23 percent) in the first half. Illinois made 19-of-31 shots in the first 20 minutes, and 56 percent overall. Eastern Illinois (1-1) was led by Henry Domercant's 12 points. But Domercant, the fourth-leading scorer in the NCAA last year at 22.8 points per game, shot only 3-for-14 from the field. J.R. Reynolds added 10 points for Eastern Illinois, which made only 16-of-59 shots (27 percent) overall. The Panthers won the Ohio Valley Conference crown a year ago and lost to Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Illinois, which was outrebounded by Gonzaga on Friday, held a 45-31 edge on the glass against the smaller Panthers. Behind Head's and Krupalija's contributions, Illinois' bench players outscore the team's starting five, 54-39. No starter played more than 26 minutes (Brian Cook). The Illini improved to 5-0 all-time against the Panthers. Ths was the first meeting between the schools since Illinois posted a 70-67 victory on December 12, 1998. Illinois (2-0) next plays Pennsylvania on Thursday and Georgia Tech on Friday. Both games will be played at Las Vegas' Valley High School.
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