CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Kofi Cockburn scored a career-high 26 points and Illinois beat North Carolina A&T 95-64 on Sunday.
The 7-foot freshman also grabbed nine rebounds, narrowly missing his seventh double-double in 13 games. Cockburn has more double-doubles this season than any other freshman in the country. He scored 23 points on two occasions earlier this season against Grand Canyon and Miami.
Ayo Dosunmu had 19 points and Alan Griffin added 18 for Illinois (9-4).
Tyler Maye and Devin Haygood scored 12 points each for North Carolina A&T (3-11). Ronald Jackson added 10 points for the Aggies.
North Carolina A&T took a 2-0 lead on the game’s first possession and never led again.
Illinois led 50-34 at the half. The Illini put together a 6-0 run early in the game and 14-2 run fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from Trent Frazier in the closing minutes of the half.
Illinois shot 53% (36 of 68) from the field, compared to 46% (24 of 52) for the Aggies.
North Carolina A&T turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 28 Illinois points. The Illini turned the ball over only nine times.
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina A&T: Outclassed by a bigger, more physical team. The Aggies played Illinois for the first time in their history. The last time they played a Big Ten team was last year, a loss to Minnesota.
Illinois: The Illini did what they needed to do in the final tune-up before conference play begins. The game provided an opportunity for coach Brad Underwood to get some valuable playing time for his reserves.
UP NEXT
North Carolina A&T: Hosts Mid-Atlantic Christian on Friday.
Illinois: Kicks off its Big Ten schedule on Thursday at No. 14 Michigan State.
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