The Illinois men’s wheelchair basketball team went through peaks and valleys in its second game at the Intramural Physical Education Building on Saturday.

The Illini had a 10-0 scoring run right off the bat against the Variety Village, but the team went into halftime with only a two-point lead.

“We lost our focus,” starting center Lars Spenger said. “We needed to be more disciplined on offense.”

However, the team ended up blowing out the Rebels, winning 68-41. The Illini won their other two games as well, beating the RIC Hornets by 15 and topping the Chicago Wheelchair Bulls 73-45.

Against the Rebels, head coach Mike Frogley said Spenger did a good job of rotating and stopping the Rebels’ best player, Canadian National Team member Adam Lancia. The Illini really started to pick up momentum when fifth-year player Paul Ward scored 10 straight points.

“I thought Paul Ward came out and just absolutely lit them up,” Frogley said. “He was running the ball-side screen-and-roll to perfection. You just could not run it any better than that, and that’s what really got us that gap in the second half.”

The Illini athletes cheered loudly from the sideline as Ward caught a no-look pass from sophomore Steve Serio with 9:46 left in the game and also swished a shot with nine minutes to go.

“You could just see the guys get fired up when they saw (Ward) start to heat up, and I thought that (freshman Alex) Grunstein fed off of the things that he did,” Frogley said.

Fifth-year player Denny Muha noticed how the Illini were gaining momentum throughout the second-half and wanted to make sure that the right things continued to happen.

“I’ve been around the block a couple of times,” Muha said. “So I like to try and share my experience with everyone else to make sure that the game is easier for them.”

Muha took what was given to him against Variety Village. He made jumpers in the paint, and there were times where he’d go down the court and easily lay the ball in. He was the vocal leader for the Illini on offense and on defense.

“(Muha) did a lot of things well that helped out the other guys and helped us get on track as a team,” Frogley said. “When we were on defense he really communicated and reminded everybody where the threats were offensively. Also in transition (on offense) with and without the ball he crossed, created some open looks, pushed hard, read the early outlets and did a lot of things that helped us get on track as a team.”

Muha is mindful that other players are going to follow his lead, so he always wants to make sure that he is making a positive impact on the team.

“Denny is a great leader,” Spenger said. “Communication on the court is really important, and anytime he talks to me (it is) a great help.”

Muha played all three games and had 12 points in the second and third games. The Illini believe that starting the season off 3-0 will build momentum toward next weekend as they travel to play the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, which knocked out the Illini in the semifinals of the national tournament last year. The Illini will be playing without co-captain Josh George, who will be attending a family function in northern Virginia.

“If we execute well (against Whitewater), we’re going to be there at the end,” Spengler said.