Chicago, IL – In a battle of university siblings, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was able to hold off the University of Illinois-Chicago 83-79 Saturday afternoon at the United Center in Chicago.
UIC was led in the first half by their 6-2 freshman combo guard Dominique Matthews, who finished the game with 18 points and two assists in only 15 minutes due to foul trouble. Matthews is an athletic scoring guard, who is very aggressive on the offensive end. The second half belonged to 6-7 freshman small forward Dikembe Dixson, who finished the game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Dixson is a slim, lengthy forward who has a non-stop motor. He did most of his damage attacking the basket, but he also hit a couple key threes late the second half. Paris Burns also contributed for UIC with 11 points and six assists. Burns is a 5’11 senior point guard, who is a true floor general and can run a team.
Dominique Matthews
The Illini had a very balanced scoring afternoon with get four players in double digits. The 6’6 junior guard Malcolm Hill led the way with 22 points. Hill is an aggressive, scoring guard who showed his ability to draw fouls and make tough shots. He also added four rebounds and two blocks, going 11-of-14 from the free throw line. Redshirt freshman forward Michael Finke also was a key contributor in this afternoon’s game. Finke is a 6’10 forward, who really has a nice feel for the game offensively. Hi shooting touch allowed him to make jump shots from the mid post and even extending out to the three-point line. He finished the game with 14 points and five rebounds, going 2-of-4 from the three.
Malcolm Hill
Kendrick Nunn, a 6’3 smooth shooting lefty-junior guard, also helped out with 14 points, and two assists.
This article was written by Keith Smith, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can subscribe to our RSS feed from the upper right corner of our home page, follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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