LAHAINA » Chaminade’s first EA Sports Maui Invitational championship will have to wait at least another year.
After knocking off Texas on Monday, the Division II hosts couldn’t conjure the magic for a second straight upset over a high-major team, falling 84-61 to Illinois on Tuesday at the Lahaina Civic Center.
There was no emotional letdown, second-year Silverswords coach Eric Bovaird said.
Illinois (5-0) of the Big Ten simply took it to his team from the opening tip, and unlike the Longhorns, they never let up after the first few minutes.
"We just came across a really good team," Bovaird said. "They know how to play defense, too. We had a harder time than we’ve ever had getting into the paint and creating things."
A night after erupting for a career-high 32 points, senior guard De’Andre Haskins was held to 19 on 7-for-16 shooting. Freshman fan sensation Kevin Hu was held to eight points, half his total against the Longhorns.
Now Chaminade takes on No. 9 North Carolina in the third-place game at 2:30 today, and will try to make its eighth overall win on Maui come against one of the biggest names in college basketball.
Intimidation factor? Please.
"These guys put their shorts and their jerseys on just like us," said senior guard Bennie Murray, who scored 10 points on Tuesday. "So we’re coming out not to ask for autographs and (not) to look up to these guys. We’re coming out to beat them."
That was the idea in this one too, but Illinois and its legion of orange-clad fans had other plans. Chaminade flew some of its student base over, but it too was an underdog in the fan noise department.
The Fighting Illini kept alive their streak of making double-digit 3-pointers in every game this season and advanced to their second Maui championship game, against first-timer Butler today at 5 p.m.
Illinois’ talented guards sped around the perimeter to negate Chaminade’s 3-point shooting and disrupt passing. UI led 8-0 in a blink.
Chaminade came out energized to start the second half, but it achieved only slight success in eliminating the 16-point deficit it faced.
Haskins hit a pull-up 3 to make it 46-34 with 15:51 left. Hu added a free throw to cut the gap to 11 with 15:04 to play.
That was as close as it got, as the Illini shot 53.6 percent in the second half and 49.2 percent for the game. Chaminade’s smaller lineup, with no one over 6 feet 8, was held to 37.1 percent.
"(They) put us in a situation where we had to be outside our comfort zone," Illinois coach John Groce said, pointing out that 6-11 UI center Nnanna Egwu had to defend 6-foot-4 guards. "That’s what these tournaments do this time of year. Gives us a chance to learn a lot about your team. So we were thankful for that. Thankful in addition to bringing that style, we have a chance to advance to tomorrow’s championship game."
Guard Joseph Bertrand led the Illini with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting off the bench.
The affable Bovaird was still in a good mood after the lopsided semifinal result — the first time since 2003 that Chaminade found itself there. Now he’s looking forward to closing out the tournament in style.
"Well, I’ve always wanted to play North Carolina," Bovaird said. "I was hoping it would be in the championship game, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s a program that I think we’ve all looked up to for a long time. To have the opportunity to play against some of the best recruits in the country, one of the best coaches in the country. It’s going to be fun. We’re hoping we can get after it and be right there at the end of the game."
USC 59, Texas 53, OT
Dewayne Dedmon hit a layup and a free throw with less than two minutes left in overtime to help the Trojans (3-1) beat the Longhorns (2-2).
Sheldon McClellan banked in a putback jumper with 25.9 seconds left to put Texas within two points, but J.T. Terrell made two free throws on the next possession to seal the win for the Trojans.
Eric Wise led USC with 13 points. Julien Lewis had 17 for Texas.
Marquette 89, Mississippi St. 62
Vander Blue scored 18 points and Davante Gardner had a double-double as the Golden Eagles (3-1) won big over the Bulldogs (1-3).
Marquette never trailed, and MSU never trailed by fewer than 10 points after the opening minutes.
Gardner finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Mississippi State didn’t score in the first four minutes as Marquette built an 8-0 lead, and after the Bulldogs cut it to 8-4, Marquette responded by scoring 10 straight points in less than two minutes.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
