Men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball hosted the second College Division Tournament of the season this weekend at Huff Hall, with the men taking first and the women finishing second.

The men were led by good shooting throughout the tourney by senior big men Adam Lancia and Jeff Townsend, as well as a very strong defensive effort in finishing a perfect 5-0.

The women opened the tourney by beating Oklahoma State 58-40, were upset by Southwest Minnesota State 57-39, and rebounded to finish 5-1.

“After the loss, we really played together as a team,” said Illinois head coach Mike Frogley.

Assistant coach Christina Ripp said beating SMS – a team the Illini women had never before defeated – helped the team’s outlook.

“I think (the tourney) is a confidence booster for our ladies,” she said.

The tourney began early Friday morning, with the host Illini men’s team taking on a shorthanded Oklahoma State team. After the opening basket by the Cowboys it was all Illini, as they used three separate runs of 10-0 or more in the first half to take a 40-10 lead at the break. The second half proved to be more of the same, with the Illini winning 76-33.

The men also convincingly defeated Oklahoma and Southwest Minnesota State three times to win the round robin tourney. Lancia and Townsend took turns leading the team in scoring, and all ten team members cracked the scorebook twice in two thrashings over SMS.

“We maintained our effort for all five games, and that was our focus,” said Illinois assistant coach Rob Taylor.

Junior Josh George said while Illinois frequently relaxes its intensity when playing lower-caliber teams, the squad never let up this weekend.

“We were intense, we played hard, we stuck to the game plan,” George said. “We really played well.”

As for the women’s team, poor shooting and transition defense proved costly in its loss to Southwest Minnesota State. The Illini women opened the game well, jumping out to a 13-8 lead before SMS came storming back to take a 29-21 halftime lead.

After a long three-pointer by Senior Jennifer Warkins – who led the Illini with 16 points – cut the lead to 31-24 early in the second half, SMS responded with an 11-0 run to put the game away.

“We didn’t play as a team,” Frogley said, “We didn’t see the court well.”

Luckily for Frogley, his team responded from the loss with their best effort of the tourney the next day, winning the rematch 55-33. Warkins again paced the team with 26 points, and Mina Mojtahedi added 14.

Despite the much-improved offensive effort, it was the defense that impressed Frogley. Clinging to a three-point lead at halftime, the Illini held SMS scoreless for the first 9:43 of the second half, and led by as much as 27 late in the game.

“We had a few lapses, but proved what we were able to do,” Ripp said.

In their other three games, the Illini women defeated Oklahoma twice, 59-54 and 65-47, and Oklahoma State a second time 52-47. Warkins led the team in scoring in each game, and freshman Carlee Hoffman stepped up with 22 points in one game and 18 in another.

With only three days off until another tourney, Coach Frogley hopes his teams continue to play well.

“A good game doesn’t happen on its own,” he said. “You make it happen.”