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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) -- Illinois won the season's first matchup
of Top Ten teams because its frontline dominated Maryland's.
Center Marcus Griffin had 19 points and eight rebounds, Brian
Cook had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Sergio McClain had 10
points and 10 rebounds as the Illini (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, AP) beat the Terrapins (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, AP) 90-80 Tuesday in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.
"I don't think the team has ever rebounded better but all I
know is I made a conscious effort to go to the glass," Griffin
said, referring to the Illini's 55-37 advantage on the boards. "It
wasn't just the bigs. The guards were going to the glass."
Illinois (3-0) advanced to Wednesday's championship game against Arizona (No. 2 ESPN/USA Today, No. 1 AP), which beat Dayton 76-59 in the other semifinal.
Sophomore guard Frank Williams added 21 points for Illinois.
"Things were just flowing," Williams said, "and I was able to
play off it."
Illinois rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat UNLV in the
opening round, while Maryland (1-1) used its experience advantage
up front to dominate Louisville.
"We had a lot of things go wrong in both first halfs,"
Illinois coach Bill Self said, referring to the double-digit
deficit to UNLV and that Maryland was up 35-33 at halftime. "We
stuck with it and stayed positive and showed a lot of toughness. We
really went after it."
Lonny Baxter had 17 points for Maryland and Terence Morris added
13, but neither was able to get anything going against Griffin,
Cook and McClain.
"You sure it was only 18?" Maryland coach Gary Williams asked
about the rebound difference. "It was just a joke there for a
while how they dominated. We shouldn't get outrebounded by 18 this
year. Their effort was better and they made us take some quick
shots."
Griffin scored on an offensive rebound and on a move down low to
key an 11-2 run that gave the Illini a 66-54 lead with 9:26 to
play.
After a 3-pointer by Morris, Griffin scored on a rebound dunk
and a layup to make it 70-57 with 7:56 left. Maryland wasn't able
to get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Griffin had two points and no rebounds at halftime.
"I wasn't doing my job in the first half," the 6-foot-9 senior
said. "In the second half I put my butt in the paint where the big
boys are."
Maryland finished 28-for-64 from the field (43.8 percent), far
off the 61 percent it shot in the opening round.
"We got a little hungry from the perimeter today," Gary
Williams said. "We didn't get Lonny the ball enough. Whether it
was Illinois' defense or us I'm not sure. It's usually a
combination.
"Our intensity level wasn't good enough to beat a team like
Illinois. That concerns me."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Illinois Clubhouse
Maryland Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Lucas Johnson makes a bounce pass to Robert Archibald for the baseline jam.
avi: 1091 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Illinois' Brian Cook is fouled and gets his unorthodox shot to fall.
avi: 966 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Illinois' Marcus Griffin proves to be too strong for the Terps to handle.
avi: 1751 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Lonny Baxter finishes the break with a facial slam and the foul.
avi: 966 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Terence Morris backs the defender in and drains the baby hook.
avi: 683 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Coach Bill Self is excited about his team's effort in their win over Maryland.
wav: 162 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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