Fall break wasn’t much of a break for the Illinois men’s basketball team. It wasn’t easy, but the Illini survived three close games against Chicago State, UNLV and IPFW to improve to 7-0.

The Illini had a different savior in each game.

Jon Ekey, forward, hit five threes and added an emphatic put-back slam in a 77-53 Illini win over Chicago State. The fifth-year transfer’s 19-point performance equaled his outburst against Bradley just five days earlier and was one of few bright spots in a game which the Illini finished on a 22-2 run after leading only 55-51 with eight minutes remaining.

The game was much slower than Illinois head coach John Groce anticipated as the Cougars ran a zone defense against the Illini, a surprise since Chicago State had been running a full-court press defense in its other games up to that point. Ekey’s long-range shooting, and Illinois’ offensive rebounding were key to beating the zone.

“We knew at some point he was going to adjust,” Chicago State head coach Tracy Dildy said. “That’s just what coach Groce did. (Ekey’s) one of the best shooters in the country. Those weren’t lucky shots. They found holes in our zone and took advantage.”

Ekey followed the performance with his worst of the season against UNLV, but fellow transfer Rayvonte Rice made up for it. Rice finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, as well as a game-winner with 26 seconds remaining to give the Illini a 61-59 road win.

“Ray was option one (on the final play),” Groce said. “Tracy (Abrams) found Ray and went with the hot hand. Winning on the road, big-time players have to make big-time plays.”

UNLV barely outrebounded Illinois, ending with 40 rebounds to Illinois’ 41 rebounds. The Runnin’ Rebels had two players averaging at least 10 rebounds a game, including Roscoe Smith, who came into the game averaging 16.3 rebounds per game.

Still, the Illini were able to grab 15 offensive rebounds, thanks largely to Rice’s and freshman Maverick Morgan’s having three offensive boards each.

“This was a grinder,” Groce said. “We had five freshmen contribute. We had to overcome foul trouble. We made big shots at the end.”

Rice made the final play for a second straight game against IPFW on Friday; his steal and two free throws with eight seconds remaining sealed the 57-55 Illini victory, but Tracy Abrams was the one who refused to let the Illini lose.

With Illinois trailing by 11 points with three seconds remaining in the first half, Abrams drove to the basket, hit a lay-up for his first points of the game and was fouled. He hit the free throw and the Illini trailed 35-27 at the half.

After intermission, Abrams picked up where he left off, scoring six points in the first four minutes of the second half on his way to a 15-point night. He also stole the ball four times.

“Dude’s a winner,” Groce said. “He’s an extension of what I want said and what I want echoed and tonight, he did that at the highest level since I’ve coached him.”

Rice finished with 17 points, six rebounds and two steals.

In the game, the Illini were able to get to the free throw line 18 times in the second half, though they only converted nine. IPFW converted just two of its 13 free throw attempts. Additionally, the Illini were 1-for-12 from beyond the arc in the second half, after shooting 3-for-9 in the first half.

Illinois was outrebounded 39-33, just the second time in seven games the Illini grabbed fewer boards than their opponents. Illinois also had two assists between its five starters and a 6-to-14 assist-to-turnover ratio. The bench added three points.

“It’s not good enough,” Groce said of Friday’s box score. “We have a long way to go, but we found a way to win. We’re not going to apologize for that. We’re not going to give it back.”

Johnathan and Sean can be reached at [email protected] and @jhett93 and @sean_hammond.