North Florida Beats Illinois, 93-81
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Dallas Moore scored 26 points and Beau Beech added 25 to lead North Florida to a 93-81 win over Illinois on Friday night.
Moore and Beech combined for 10-of-14 shooting from the 3-point line and North Florida never trailed while defeating a Big Ten Conference team for the second-straight season.
Center Mike Thorne Jr. scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Illinois. Malcolm Hill added 20 points, but Illinois lost a season-opener for the first time since 1998.
North Florida, which qualified for the NCAA tournament last season for the first time in school history, led by 23 points at halftime.
Beech made seven of eight from beyond the arc and North Florida was 17 of 33 on 3-point attempts.
Illinois played its first of four games at the Prairie Capital Convention Center while its campus arena is under renovation.
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