No. 23 Illinois needs second-half comeback to turn away Valparaiso, 87-64

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- — Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 22 points and Dain Dainja had 16 as No. 23 Illinois came from behind with a 49-point second half to beat Valparaiso 87-64 on Friday night.

Luke Goode had 13 points for the Fighting Illini (3-1), and Ty Rodgers added 10.

Isaiah Stafford scored 30 points for Valparaiso, including 23 in the first half.

After leading by 10 in the first half, Valparaiso was up 45-38 at halftime. Shannon said the Illini had a player-led discussion in the locker room.

“Everyone had their say,” he said. “We knew what we needed to fix. Our effort and defensive intensity weren't there.”

Illinois coach Brad Underwood assigned Shannon to guard Stafford in the second half.

“I said, ‘I got him. I got No. 19,’" Shannon said. ”Coach Underwood calls me the best two-way player in the country. I wanted to show him I was."

Underwood didn't like what he saw from his team in the first half.

“If you don't play the right way, the game is a real struggle,” he said.

Cooper Schwieger and Jerome Palm each had 12 points and Jaxon Edwards pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds for the Beacons (2-2), whose first-year coach is former Illini forward Roger Powell Jr.

Powell said he was glad to be back at the State Farm Center after an 18-year absence, but he wanted to win the game.

“We played a great first half. But Illinois made a run, I knew they would, and they got real physical with us defensively. Plus, our guys ran out of gas. That's why we shot 9 for 45 in the second half," he said.

Illinois took over early in the second period with a 17-2 run.

Back-to-back buckets by Dainja drew the Illini to 51-49. Two 3-pointers by Goode, one by Shannon, and two drives to the basket by Shannon put Illinois in front 62-53.

The Illini were minus starting power forward Coleman Hawkins, who sat out with a sore knee, and they had to go deep into their bench early in the game because of foul trouble.

BIG PICTURE

Based on its first-half performance, Valparaiso served notice it could be a contender in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Illinois was plagued by turnovers in the first half, just like in a 71-64 loss Tuesday to No. 4 Marquette, but turned the ball over just twice in the second half.

WELCOME BACK

Powell was a fan favorite on the 2004-05 Illinois team that finished 37-2 and won Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships before losing to North Carolina in the NCAA title game.

He started all 39 games at power forward that season and averaged 12 points and 5.7 rebounds. He ranks sixth in Illini history in career field goal percentage at 57.2%.

HIS CALLING

Powell is a minister. He said he stopped playing professionally in Europe and turned to coaching at age 28 — he spent five years as a Valparaiso assistant and four years as a Gonzaga assistant — because he felt it was a calling from God and he has a passion to mentor young men.

PERFECT RECORD

Illinois is 8-0 vs. Valparaiso, with all the games played in Champaign. The previous meeting came in the first round of the 2017 NIT, when the second-seeded Illini won 82-57.

UP NEXT

Valparaiso: After playing their first road game of the season, the Beacons are back home Tuesday to face Western Illinois.

Illinois: Will play Southern on Sunday in the fifth game of a season-opening six-game homestand.

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