CHAMPAIGN - Thanks to a gutsy freshman, Illinois avoided what could have been a loss in an exhibition game Sunday.

Peorian D.J. Richardson poured in 23 points, including eight straight midway through the second half, to lead No. 23 Illinois to an 84-63 win against Division II Quincy University at the Assembly Hall.

The game was more competitive than the final score would indicate.

Quincy, picked to win its division in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, trailed 54-53 with 10:04 remaining. That was until Richardson, with a veteran's savvy, took over scoring duties. The 6-foot-2 freshman nailed a pair of three-pointers and a layup to push Illinois' lead to 69-56 with 6:02 remaining.

Richardson made 9 of 13 shots and added four rebounds. Alex Legion, who came off the bench, had 12 points, Brandon Paul had 11 and Mike Tisdale had 10.

Redshirt freshman Stan Simpson, who has drawn the ire of coaches for his lack of effort in the classroom, did not play for Illinois during the two exhibition games. Junior guard Jeff Jordan had four assists but did not score in his first action of the preseason.

Illinois opens the regular season Friday against SIU-Edwardsville at the Assembly Hall.

8:05 left in the second half - Illinois 61, Quincy 54

-Quincy's hanging around. All nine players used by coach Marty Bell have scored. These Illini can score, but they aren't yet the defensive unit you're used to. Those defensive shortcomings are on display today.

-Richardson, Paul, Legion and Tisdale are in double figures for Illinois. Weber still juggling his rotation. Billy Cole just checked into the game.

Back in a few.

Klee

13:51 left in second half - Illinois 49, Quincy 39

A few recruiting notes as Illinois opens a 10-point lead...

-Broad Ripple's Ron Patterson, a 6-foot-2 16-year-old, said this is his second visit to Illinois. You might remember his high school squad played in the June shootout at Ubben and the Hall.

"I've got a long ways to go (before choosing a school)," Patterson said.

-Lawrence Central's Jeremy Hollowell, a 15-year-old who said he's about 6-foot-7, said this is his first visit to Illinois. He's also tripped to Xavier, Indiana, Ohio State and Cincinnati. He had a visit scheduled to Tennessee but it fell through.

"I really like it (Illinois)," Hollowell said. "It's a nice campus."

-It's been almost three years since Jereme Richmond committed to Illinois. I remember being in the North Shore Country Day gymnasium about four days after he committed, watching Richmond almost touch the top of the white square on the backboard. It was eye-opening, and the process has been long, but he plans on signing a letter of intent on Wednesday.

There's a long ways to go before a high school player, even for someone with legitimate NBA aspirations like Richmond, can think about leaving early. But I asked him how long he plans on playing at Illinois.

"It just depends on how hard I feel like working. It could be one (year). It could be four," he said. "If I did do four years, that wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen to me. Who knows?"

Back in a few.

Klee

Halftime - Illinois 37, Quincy 30

-Illinois only got four points from Mike Davis and Demetri McCamey. Shows the value of those two players to this group.

-D.J. Richardson with a grateful round of applause after checking out with 11 points and four assists in the first half.

-Our resident attendance-estimator, who will remain anonymous, pegs the attendance at around 7,500. And we never second-guess him. The June-like weather outside might have something to do with the low number.

-Steve Welmer is back in action after suffering an injury and missing most of last season. In our annual season-ending Polling Place, the personable veteran is always the players' favorite official.

-Quincy, a D-II program picked to win its division, came in here thinking victory. So far there's no reason to think the Hawks, who are vertically challenged but relentless, can't pull it off.

-Checked in with Crandall Head, Jereme Richmond and Crandall Head at halftime. All three recruits said they would sign their letters of intent on Wednesday. We'll have more from the three recruits in Wednesday's N-G.

Back in a few.

Klee

8:05 left in first half - Quincy 22, Illinois 15

-Josh Edmonds, a 6-5 guard from Peoria, had 10 quick points for Quincy. The Hawks are shooting 50 percent (9-for-18) from the field and have a 15-8 edge on the glass.

-Speaking of Peorians, I'm told Jamar Smith was terrific at the Saluki Dome yesterday. Former Illini had 23 points and Southern Indiana controlled the game, only to lose to SIU on a tip-in at the buzzer. One coach said he was the best player to play at SIU Arena since E.J. Gordon came to town.

-Legion with seven points. Solid comeback after a rough week at Ubben.

-Players' families well-represented today. I see Coles, Tisdales, Jordans (Jeff's mom), Pauls, Richardsons, Griffeys, and there's probably more.

-Demetri McCamey didn't get on the board until 9:30 remained. Quincy doing a good job shadowing the Illini's best player.

Back in a few.

Klee

12:30 left in first half - Quincy 13, Illinois 12

-Quincy's back in a zone, allowing Illinois to work on its zone offense. That's something Bruce Weber wanted to see.

-Quincy punishing Illinois on the glass. The Hawks had eight of the first nine rebounds. That might be this team's No. 1 weakness, and I'm not talking about rebounding.... toughness and playing with an edge.

-Alex Legion and Dominique Keller first off the bench, at the 14:49 mark. Legion promptly hit a 3 on their first possession. He hit another one on the next possession.

-From the sideline, Weber calling for more dribble penetration... "Cut through the D!"

-Jeff Jordan with his first action of the (pre)season. Checked in at 13:27 after sitting out the first exhibition game.

Back in a few.

Klee

Tipoff

-Starting lineup: Demetri McCamey, D.J. Richardson, Brandon Paul Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale. Like we wrote about in today's N-G, Alex Legion, who started the first exhibition game, didn't have the best week of practice and will come off the bench.

-Watch Brandon Paul today. I thought he was exceptional in practice this week. He hit shots - from near and far - and isn't having as much trouble getting through screens, as he was earlier in the fall.

-Bertrand definitely out for today. He's over on the Illinois bench and won't play.

-A pair of high-major Indiana prospects, Jeremy Hollowell (Lawrence Central) and Ron Patterson (Broad Ripple), are here in attendance. Klee just talked to them so we'll have their recruiting updates Monday on HQ.

Back in a few.

Klee

45 minutes until tipoff

Paul Klee joining you from the Assembly Hall. We're about 45 minutes away from Illinois' final exhibition game. A few note to pass the time until the 4 p.m. tipoff:

-Big week for Illinois' recruiting. The early signing period starts Wednesday, with Crandall Head, Meyers Leonard and Jereme Richmond expected to put their name on the dotted line. Monster recruiting class for Illinois, as you know.

-Meyers Leonard tells me he's on his way to the Assembly Hall. Jereme Richmond says he's driving down, as well. I'm guessing you'll see Crandall Head in attendance but haven't heard from him.

-It doesn't look as though Joseph Bertrand will play today. He's over here on the sideline while the other Illini go through warmups. The freshman's right knee has been bothering him, and he sat out practices on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. They don't have to make a decision on a redshirt before the season opener - they can hold him out and then decide later. We'll see what happens. I feel for the kid, though. Without the knee injury I don't think we would be discussing a possible redshirt.

-Profile of Bubba Chisholm - the man, the myth, the legend - in today's N-G. He's a former News-Gazette carrier. You can read his story here.

Back in a few.

Klee