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  Sunday, Nov. 26 4:00pm ET
Harrington's 17 points spark Illini
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Sean Harrington's timing couldn't be better.

With No. 8 Illinois dragging from jet lag and playing its fourth game in seven days, the reserve guard scored a career-high 17 points to lead the Illini over Texas Southern 86-57 on Sunday.

Harrington's big day punctuated a big week for the Illini (4-1), who beat UNLV and No. 6 Maryland before falling by three points to Arizona (No. 2 ESPN/USA Today, No. 2 AP) in the Maui Invitational final Wednesday.

"We were a half step slow," Illinois coach Bill Self said.

The Illini were still fast enough to handle Texas Southern (0-3), which shot 34 percent and managed just seven assists.

Harrington was 6-for-6 shooting, including five 3-pointers.

"When you get the open looks, you've got to knock them down," Harrington said. "I was feeling pretty good, but the guys were giving me the ball in spots where I could score."

Illinois got solid contributions from most of its regulars, including 16 points and eight rebounds from center Marcus Griffin. He dominated the smaller Tigers inside all day.

"They let the dogs out on us early on," said Texas Southern coach Robert Moreland.

Illinois used a 13-0 run to move ahead 18-6, but Chris Miller's shooting kept Texas Southern in the game.

Miller's fourth 3-pointer got the Tigers within 20-16 with 10:29 left in the half. That was the closest they got.

Griffin and Robert Archibald combined for 13 points in the paint as Illinois closed the half with a 19-6 run for a 49-29 lead.

The Illini stretched the lead to 70-40 with 11 minutes left on three consecutive 3-pointers by Harrington.

The Tigers didn't let Illinois pile on.

Miller stopped getting open 3-point chances so the Tigers tried to go inside when the Illini switched to a smaller lineup.

Texas Southern hit 11 free throws during a 23-8 run to draw within 78-63 with 4:11 remaining but never had a chance to catch up.

"We start some people who never played college basketball before a week ago," Moreland said. "We just wanted to introduce them to some real college basketball so, hopefully, we'll be better down the line."

Miller finished with 18 points and seven rebounds for Texas Southern. Ricky Bennett added 13 points and Steve Hoyer 11.

The easy win was not enough for Self, who was concerned about his team's lack of focus. Some Illini players showed up Sunday not expecting to spend much sweat on Texas Southern, the coach said.

"You want your team to have that confidence, but you also want your team to have that edge," Self said. "I don't think we played with that edge today."

Self wanted to hear no excuses, especially not that the Illini are in the midst of playing five games in eight days -- a gauntlet featuring three ranked opponents. That stretch ends Tuesday in Greensboro, N.C., against No. 2 Duke, which could be No. 1 after Arizona lost Saturday to Purdue.

"That's just mind over matter," Self said. "If your brain tells your body it's tired, you're tired. If your brain says you're not, you're fine. We can rest when we're done with Duke."
 


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