This year’s men’s basketball team is not afraid to shoot against the zone, as the Illini showed in finishing 11 for 26 from beyond the arc in a 94-48 win against Presbyterian College on Saturday.

“We told the players ahead of time this was a young team we were going up against” head coach Bruce Weber said.

Presbyterian College (0-3) is one of the youngest teams in the nation. Choosing to redshirt three juniors this season, the Blue Hose fielded a roster of one redshirt-junior, two sophomores and five freshmen.

Throughout the entire game, Illinois’ quick ball movement was too much for its opponent.

The ball movement was aided by junior Demetri McCamey, who finished the game with 10 assists – his most since Dec. 8, 2008.

“My teammates helped me out by hitting shots all night … we had a really good shooting night tonight,” McCamey said.

The game went back and forth for the opening 12 minutes of the first half, but once the buckets started falling for the Illini the outcome was never in doubt.

Presbyterian head coach Gregg Nibert said his team played well in the game’s opening 15 minutes, but he did not expect the Illini to bring in as many shooting threats off the bench.

Illinois’ bench produced 49 points, and every Illini who played scored, including redshirt freshman Stan Simpson, who scored his first career points as an Illini in the game’s final minute.

Freshman D.J. Richardson scored the first 3-pointer of his collegiate career with 14:17 to go before halftime and would go on to sink three more. He finished the game with a team-high 15 points off 5-for-10 shooting.

After leading 43-28 at halftime, the Illini cracked down defensively and went on a 25-2 run to open the second half. The Orange and Blue limited the Blue Hose to just 20 points in the second half.

“We came out strong in the second half, knocked down some shots, played solid defense,” junior Mike Davis said. “That’s what we pride ourselves on, and that’s what we did.”

While the Illini (3-0) pride themselves on defense, they have now scored more than 90 points in two of their first three games.

But when Illinois continues action for the Las Vegas Invitational at home against Wofford on Tuesday, Weber said Illinois will face an increased level of competition.

“Tuesday’s going to be a good tussle,” Weber said. “It’s Miami (Ohio), that’s what it is. Smart guys, older guys that know how to play (and are) well coached.”