The Illinois men’s basketball team leads Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi 28-12 at halftime of their second regular season game at Assembly Hall. Illinois got off to a slow start, quickly falling behind the Islanders 8-3. But the Illini rattled off a 23-2 run to finish the half.

The Illini defense was strong, forcing nine turnovers and limiting the Islanders to a 22.7 percent shooting percentage, as TAMCC made five of 22 field goals. Illinois struggled from the field as well, making 11 of 31 field goals for a 35.5 percent rate. But the Illini shot well from beyond the arc, converting five of 10 three-point attempts.

Trent Meacham leads Illinois with 11 points, while Demetri McCamey has added seven. McCamey was not in the starting lineup for the second-straight game. Weber said the sophomore point guard needs better practice habits to earn a starting spot.