>>Big Second Half Leads Illini Past Brown
Aaron Cosby scored 18 points, with 13 in the first five minutes of the second half, as Illinois topped Brown 89-68 on Monday night.
After facing a halftime deficit, Illinois (4-0) came back with its defense as the Illini went on a 9-0 run to take a 46-37 lead early in the second half. During the run, the Illini picked up three steals.
Brown (1-4) took a 35-31 lead into halftime by shooting 51.9 percent from the field. Illinois' offense, which entered the game averaging 100.3 points per game, was limited to 30.6 percent from the floor in the first half.
Rayvonte Rice added 15 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Five Illinois players reached double figures.
Steven Spieth led Brown with 21 points and seven rebounds. He was an efficient 7-of-10 from the field but had four turnovers.
>>Seton Hall Downs ISU
Sterling Gibbs scored 40 points to lead Seton Hall to an 84-80 win over Illinois State to claim the Paradise Jam Tournament title.
Seton Hall (4-0) used a 17-point run midway through the first half, including a pair of 3-pointers by Gibbs, to turn a 4-point lead into a 41-27 advantage at the half.
Illinois State trimmed the lead to seven with 12:04 left after a 12-5 run, but Seton Hall called timeout and Gibbs nailed a pair of treys out of the break to push the lead back into double-digits. The Cardinals (2-2) got it to 5 with 44 seconds left, but Gibbs made four straight free throws to ice it.
Isaiah Whitehead had 18 points and six assists for the Pirates, who hit 12 of 18 (67 percent) from beyond the arc.
Bobby Hunter paced Illinois State with 23 points, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers.
NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball ("USA Today" Rankings)
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#4 Arizona Wildcats 72, Missouri Tigers 53 (Maui Invitational at Maui, HI)
#5 Louisville Cardinals 87, Savannah State Tigers 26
#11 Villanova Wildcats 77, #15 VCU Rams 53 (Legends Classic at Brooklyn, NY)
#5 Kansas Jayhawks 87, Rider Broncs 60
#14 Iowa State Cyclones 84, Alamaba Crimson Tide 74 (CBE Hall of Fame Classic at Kansas City, MO)
#16 San Diego State Aztecs 92, BYU Cougars 87 (2OT) (Maui Invitational at Maui, HI)
#18 Michigan Wolverines 70, Oregon Ducks 63 (Legends Classic at Brooklyn, NY)
#19 Michigan State Spartans 79, Santa Clara Broncos 52
>>ISU Forward Named MVC Newcomer of the Week
After scoring double figures in each of his first three games as a Redbird, Illinois State junior forward DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, as announced by the league office Monday.
An Orlando, Florida, native and a transfer from Eastern Oklahoma State College, Akoon-Purcell averaged a team best 16.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals to lead Illinois State to a 2-0 record while making his first two career-starts last week in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam held in St. Thomas.
Akoon-Purcell now leads Illinois State in points and rebounds with 15.7 and 7.7 respectively averaged through ISU's first three games.
>>Kentucky Maintains Top Spot In Hoops Poll
(Undated) -- The Kentucky Wildcats remain atop the latest "USA Today" top-25 men's college basketball poll. The 5-and-0 Wildcats received 29 of the 32 first place votes. Duke and Wisconsin both moved up one spot to second and third, respectively. Arizona slipped two positions to number-four despite a 3-and-0 record. Louisville is fifth, followed by North Carolina, Virginia, Gonzaga, Texas and Wichita State. Kansas dropped from fifth to 12th after losing to Kentucky. Miami, UCLA, West Virginia and Providence are new to the rankings.
