Pendleton, Coleman Lead USC Past Duquesne : No. 7 Illinois Wins Tournament by Handing Arkansas Little Rock First Loss

Anthony Pendleton scored 26 points and Ronnie Coleman added 21 Saturday to lead USC to a 91-83 victory over Duquesne in the consolation game of the Illini basketball tournament.

In the championship game, Lowell Hamilton scored 21 points, and No. 7-ranked Illinois scored a surprisingly easy 107-88 victory over Arkansas Little Rock.

USC (5-2 for the season) got 15 points from Chris Moore and 13 from Alan Pollard.

Pollard also came off the bench to grab 12 rebounds and make 7 assists, leading the Trojans in both categories.

Duquesne (2-3 for the season) was led by Collins Dobbs, who scored 19 points.

Midway in the first half, the Trojans used a 7-0 run to take a 30-21 lead.

USC led at halftime, 47-37, and extended the lead to 20 points in the second half.

The Trojans outshot the Dukes, 50.9%-43.5%, and outrebounded them, 42-39.

Pendleton made 8 of 17 shots, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range. Coleman hit 7 of 9.

“We got some good things done in this tournament,” USC Coach George Raveling said. “We have no ideas of grandeur. We just want to get better, and we did.

“We made some mistakes, but I can live with those if we’re playing hard.”

USC plays host to Seattle Tuesday night at the Sports Arena.

With the score tied, 24-24, in the championship game, Illinois (6-0 for the season) went on a 19-4 run to take a 43-28 lead with 5 minutes left in the first half.

The Illini shot 65% in the first half, outrebounded Arkansas Little Rock, 24-15, and forced 10 turnovers.

Illinois led by as many as 35 points in the second half before Coach Lou Henson pulled his starters.

Nick Anderson scored 19 for Illinois, while teammates Kendall Gill and Marcus Liberty scored 17 and 14, respectively.

James Scott scored 27 points for Arkansas Little Rock (4-1 for the season), and Johnnie Bell had 24.