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 Dallas Mavericks Gear . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Tim Hardaway Jersey . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. https://www.cheapmavericks.com/803l-maxi-kleber-jersey-mavericks.html . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Michael Finley Jersey . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Ryan Broekhoff Jersey . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. MARTIN, Tenn. -- Two touchdowns -- one on special teams and the other on defense -- in the closing minute by Tae Martin and Julian Thompson-Clay helped UT Martin complete a 44-23 comeback victory over Tennessee Tech in its Ohio Valley Conference opener on Saturday.Martin fielded an onside kick and ran it back 43 yards to put the game out of reach with 1:02 on the clock. Thompson-Clay picked off Michael Birdsong and returned it 86 yards as time expired.The Skyhawks (2-2, 1-0) fell behind when an interception on their first possession led to a Tennessee Tech touchdown and a 6-0 lead when the extra point was blocked.ddddddddddddUT Martin rallied ahead 28-9 through three quarters, but Tech (1-3, 1-1) surged to within 31-23 on two fourth-quarter field goals and a TD and then went for the onside kick.The teams were nearly even statistically, Tennessee Techs 378 yards total offense to 366. ' ' '