No. 19 Illini cruised past Monmouth for a 103-65 win behind 30 points from Terrence Shannon Jr. and 21 from Jayden Epps.
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ANDERSON KIMBALL
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois got off to a furious start with three buckets in the first minute, and that was par for the course on a high-scoring night.
The No. 19 Illini cruised past Monmouth for a 103-65 win behind 30 points from Terrence Shannon Jr. and 21 from Jayden Epps. The Illini were up 8-0 just 52 seconds into the game and never trailed.
After starting the last game 1-for-18 from the field, the Illini made their first five shots and started 13-for-16 from the field.
Illinois never trailed against a buy game opponent in its tuneup for games against UCLA and either Virginia or Baylor later this week.
Shannon made a couple of early 3s and got out in the open court where he was a blur. After tying his career-high in the season-opener he set his career high in the first 25 minutes.
Shannon was the first Illinois player to get 30 points in a game since Kofi Cockburn had 37 against Wisconsin in February.
Shannon has quickly become the Illini’s top scoring option and is averaging 22.7 points through three games — more than double his scoring average of 10.4 points from last year at Texas Tech.