Eight days on the Hawaiian Islands started with a gutsy overtime victory against Hawaii and ended with a Maui Invitational championship for the Illinois men’s basketball team.

The Illini (6-0) defeated Butler 78-61 Wednesday night to cap a nonconference tournament in which they never trailed at any point during the three games.

Senior guard Brandon Paul spearheaded the wire-to-wire tournament performance and was rewarded with tournament MVP honors. Paul scored 20 points and added four assists against the Bulldogs (3-2).

“We came out with the mindset that we wanted to prove ourselves, and I think we did that,” Paul said. “We’re in no shape the stop right here. We got the championship we wanted, and I’m proud of my teammates. MVP is just the icing on the cake for me.”

Paul’s fellow backcourt teammate, D.J. Richardson, also made the Maui- All-Tournament team alongside Paul. Richardson totaled 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists against Butler.

The championship for Illinois marks its first in Maui in program history. The Illini completed their Hawaii road trip — the Hawaii road game and Maui Invitational — with a 4-0 record to remain undefeated on the season. Only 53 Division-I teams are unbeaten as of Friday.

Thomas can be reached at [email protected].