CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – SIUE men's basketball fell to a talented University of Illinois team 90-59 Friday night at State Farm Center.

SIUE dropped to 1-2 on the young year after playing three games in five days. Illinois improves to 2-0 defeating a pair of Ohio Valley Conference teams.

Illinois jumped out to an early 12-4 lead, including a 7-0 spurt. The Cougars fought back to cut the lead to 10 on a three-pointer by Ray'Sean Taylor midway through the first half.

A 6-0 Fighting Illini run pushed the lead back to double digits, but the Cougars had an answer.

SIUE capitalized on a 10-2 run which cut the Illini lead to five, 28-23, on a layup by Myles Thompson with 5:30 left in the first half.

Illinois shot six straight threes, connecting on two of them, to stretch its lead to 18 (46-28) going into halftime. The Illini never looked back.

SIUE came out of the locker room with a quick 5-0 run, but Illinois was quick to answer with a pair of three pointers by Tomislav Ivisic and Tre White.

SIUE would get as close as 52-40 on a tip-in by Jo Valerie, but it wasn't enough to stop the powerful Illinois offense. Illinois grew its lead to 32 in the second half.

SIUE got a valiant effort from 6-5 graduate student Jo Valrie. Valrie scored eight points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds including five offensive rebounds.

Ray'Sean Taylor led the Cougars in scoring with 14 points shotting 4-15 from the field, connecting on two three pointers. Taylor also contributed four assists and two defensive rebounds.

SIUE shot 30 percent from the field and 25 percent from behind the arc. The Cougars shot 47 percent (8-17) from the free throw line. SIUE collected 41 rebounds,19 offensive and 22 defensive.

Illinois got production from its big man, Tomislav Ivisic. Ivisic led all scorers with18 points on 6-9 from the field including two three-pointers. The freshman also recorded seven rebounds.

The Illini also received a double-double from Kasparas Jakucionis who scored 12 points, while dishing out 13 assists and eight rebounds. The 13 assists tied the Illinois freshman assists record.

Illinois shot 28-63 from the field and 15-38 from three-point range. The Illini added 19 points from the free throw line on 28 attempts.

SIUE fished its week going 1-2 while facing two BIG 10 road opponents in Indiana and Illinois. The Cougars will travel to Indiana State on Tuesday with tip scheduled for 6 p.m. central time.