CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Malcolm Hill made sure Illinois didnt step off the gas pedal Friday night so that the Illini could took care of business against Detroit Mercy, 89-69.The senior, who scored 25 points, led his team to a quick start after the intermission, when his team was up 39-30 and it seemed like the Titans would close the gap even more.Im always in an aggressive attack more, but this was one of those games where I needed to start strong in the second half, Hill said.Illinois (4-0) continued its strong start to the season in the opening game of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.The Illini had little trouble scoring, shooting 27of 52 from the field and 8 of 19 from 3-point range. Friday marked the second straight game the Illini had difficulty shooting from the free throw line however, finishing 27of 38.Tracy Abrams continued to have a strong return to basketball, scoring 15 points and finishing with four rebounds, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.Groce knows the importance a balanced offense can have on his team.If you can have a balance of paint touches with that outside shooting, it puts opponents in dilemmas, Groce said.Detroit Mercy (1-2) had trouble keeping up with Illinois fast offensive pace from the start of the game. The Titans never led.Josh McFolley and Jaleel Hogan both led the way with 16 points for a team that finished shooting 43 percent from the field and 24 percent from beyond the arc.The Titans fell behind in most categories against the Illini, but Detroit Mercy head coach Bacari Alexander felt Illinois won the game down in the post, where the Illini won the rebound battle 39-29.They took advantage of those opportunities (in the post), Alexander said. (But) I like the direction this team is going in.BIG PICTUREIllinois: The Illini have played as they should against the type of opponents theyve faced so far this year. The team has one game left against relatively easy competition before facing No. 19 West Virginia at the Barclays Center in New York.Detroit Mercy: Although the game was never really close after the first few minutes, the Titans found some scoring opportunities and will need to continue to do that in the rest of the tournament.ROLE PLAYERGroce thought bench player D.J. Williams had his best overall performance of the year. The sophomore wing scored six points.LETDOWNAfter a strong start to the season, center Maverick Morgan had his worst night of the season, finishing with six points and zero rebounds and fouling out with more than five minutes left in the game.UP NEXTIllinois will continue play in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament when it hosts Winthrop in Champaign on Monday.Detroit Mercy will try to bounce back Monday when it travels to Florida State to play its second game in the NIT Season Tip-Off.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org Cheap Soccer Jerseys China . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. Cheap Nike Soccer Jerseys . 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The Atlanta Dream will try to keep pace with the surging New York Liberty when the Dream visit the Connecticut Sun on Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.Atlanta (10-9) has won its last two games after losing six in a row. The Dream are second in the WNBAs Eastern Conference, 3 1/2 games behind the Liberty.Connecticut (5-13) has won its last two games after losing six of seven. The Sun are last in the Eastern Conference, eight games behind New York.Atlanta is coming off a 95-90 overtime victory over the Dallas Wings. Angel McCoughtry turned in one of the finest performances of her career. She scored seven points in overtime and posted the sixth triple-double in WNBA history, finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.Tiffany Hayes also scored 27 points in the win over Dallas. Sancho Lyttle had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Elizabeth Williams had 10 points and six blocked shots.Connecticut is coming off its most impressive win of the season, a 93-89 overtime victory over the Minnesota Lynx. The Sun ended regulation wwith a 13-2 run and prevailed in overtime, overcoming a 40-point game by Minnesota star Maya Moore.dddddddddddd.Alex Bentley scored 24 points for Connecticut. Chiney Ogwumike had 21 points and seven rebounds.McCoughtry is fourth in the WNBA in scoring at 19.5 points per game. Hayes is 12th, averaging 16 points per contest. Bentley leads Connecticut and ranks 16th in the league in scoring, averaging 14.9 points per game.Connecticut announced on Friday that rookie Rachel Banham has undergone season-ending micro-fracture surgery on her right knee. Recovery is expected to take four to six months.While we are obviously disappointed to lose Rachel for the remainder of the season, we remain tremendously excited about her bright future with the Sun, head coach Curt Miller said. Rachel showed the potential to be an impact player in this league despite playing through significant pain for the majority of the season. ' ' '