Associated Press Associated Press ADVERTISING HONOLULU — D.J. Richardson drained a 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer, capping a comeback from a 16-point second-half deficit and giving Illinois a wild 78-77 victory over Hawaii on Friday night. Richardson’s buzzer-beater followed one
Associated Press
HONOLULU — D.J. Richardson drained a 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer, capping a comeback from a 16-point second-half deficit and giving Illinois a wild 78-77 victory over Hawaii on Friday night.
Richardson’s buzzer-beater followed one by Hawaii’s Vander Joaquim, who hit a fadeaway jumper at the end of regulation to force overtime. Tracy Abrams’ basket with 2:59 to play capped a 12-3 run that gave the Illini (3-0) their first lead of the game.
In overtime, Joaquim’s jumper put the Warriors (3-1) ahead 74-69 with 2:45 left. Jace Tavita made one of two free throws to give UH a 77-75 lead with 7 seconds left and set the scene for Richardson, who finished with 16 points.
Brandon Paul scored 25 points, including five 3-pointers, for Illinois, and Abrams added 22. The Illini improved to 7-0 against Hawaii.
Joaquim led the Warriors with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Brandon Spearman added 20 points and nine boards. Hawaii enjoyed a 51-31 advantage in rebounds, but it made 16 turnovers and missed 14 of 31 attempts at the free-throw line.
Illinois made only two of its first 14 shots and trailed 41-28 at halftime. Spearman, a Chicago native, hit a 3-pointer to give his team its largest lead less than 30 seconds into the second half, but Illinois’ explosive backcourt trio spurred the comeback.
ILLINOIS (3-0)
Richardson 5-14 2-2 16, Paul 7-14 6-8 25, Abrams 9-16 2-6 22, Egwu 2-7 0-0 4, Griffey 1-5 0-0 2, McLaurin 2-3 1-2 5, Bertrand 1-3 0-0 2, LaTulip 0-0 2-2 2, Shaw 0-1 0-0 0, Henry 0-1 0-0 0, Langford 0-0 0-0 0, Djimde 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 13-20 78.
HAWAII (3-1)
Tavita 1-2 1-3 3, Joaquim 8-15 4-9 22, Brereton 3-11 3-4 10, Spearman 7-14 4-6 20, Standhardinger 4-15 3-5 12, Jefferson 0-2 1-2 1, Rozitis 2-3 0-0 4, Clair 0-0 0-0 0, Fotu 2-4 1-2 5. Totals 27-66 17-31 77.
Halftime—Hawaii 41-28. End Of Regulation—Tied 66. 3-Point Goals—Illinois 11-31 (Paul 5-10, Richardson 4-12, Abrams 2-4, Egwu 0-1, Griffey 0-4), Hawaii 6-14 (Joaquim 2-2, Spearman 2-3, Standhardinger 1-1, Brereton 1-5, Tavita 0-1, Jefferson 0-2). Fouled Out—Egwu. Rebounds—Illinois 31 (Richardson 6), Hawaii 51 (Joaquim 11). Assists—Illinois 8 (Abrams 3), Hawaii 14 (Tavita 7). Total Fouls—Illinois 26, Hawaii 17. A—7,550.
Hawaii women 73, Tennessee-Martin 69: Kamilah Martin logged her 30th career double-double and a pair of Big Island natives each scored in double figures to lift UH at the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic.
Pua Kailiawa, a Ka’u graduate, and Kanisha Bello, a Waiakea graduate, came off the bench to contribute 12 and 11 points, respectively, to help give coach Laura Beeman her first victory. Kailiawa was 6 of 9 from the floor and Bello made all four of her shots, including two clutch baskets late in the game.
The Wahine led by as many as 15 in the second half before the Skyhawks used a 23-7 run to take the lead on a 3-pointer by Katie Schubert with 7:52 left. Martin made two free throws to give Hawaii back the lead, and Bello hit a 3-pointer and jumper in the final two minutes. She finished with three 3-pointers.
Martin posted 18 points and 10 rebounds with three assists and two steals for Hawaii (1-1), which will face No. 4 Stanford today at 7 p.m. The Cardinal upset top-ranked Baylor earlier in the day.
Destiny King added 11 points, seven rebounds and a game-high six assists, and Ashleigh Karaitiana grabbed 10 rebounds as Hawaii held a 44-33 advantage on the glass.
Jasmine Newsome scored a game-high 25 points and Heather Butler added 18 for UT-Martin (1-2), which faces Baylor at 4:30 p.m. today.
