Illinois Unable To Handle Second-Half Surge In Loss To Tennessee And Dalton Knecht

After leading at halftime, the Illinois Fighting Illini come up just short against the Tennessee Volunteers

The Illinois Fighting Illini appeared they were on the way to a sixth straight victory by defeating another high-quality opponent. 

Instead, they fell victim to sort of an early second-half slumber. It led to a 86-79 loss on the road against the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers. After leading by two at halftime, the Illini were unable to overcome the Vols in the second half. It was their first loss since falling to Marquette. 

Quincy Guerrier led the Illini with 22 points  and five rebounds while guard Terrance Shannon struggled with 22. Shannon, the team's leading scorer, shot just 5 of 16 from the field after scoring 33 points against Florida Atlantic earlier this week. He was saved by going 11 of 11 from the free throw line. Forward Marcus Domask, also coming off a career-high 33 points against FAU, finished just 1 of 10 from the field. 

The loss slowed some of the momentum following Monday's win against FAU in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. They fell victim to a balanced Tennessee scoring effort, led by Dalton Knecht's 21 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He led five Vols in double-figures, including Jonas Aidoo(14 points), Santiago Vescovi (12 points), Josiah Jordan-James (12 points) and Zakai Ziegler (11 points).  

The Illini now get a weekend off before playing host to Colgate Dec. 17 at State Farm Center. They then play against their rival University of Missouri in Columbia Dec. 22. 

The Next Step For Illinois' Marcus Domask Is Producing More Consistently

Shandel Richardson is the publisher for Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com.