The Southeast Missouri St. Redhawks got down early and never recovered in an 89-64 loss to 6th-ranked Illinois in Champaign on Wednesday. The Illini jumped out to a 9-0 lead and SEMO didn’t get on the board until Roy Booker hit a three-pointer with 14:44 to go in the first half. Booker finished with a game-high 26 points.

The Redhawks trailed by as many as 15 points when Illinois took a 20-5 lead, but SEMO battled back. Andrais Thornton hit a jumper with 6:57 to go in the half to cut Illinois’ lead to 22-18. That’s as close as SEMO got the rest of the way. They trailed 38-29 at halftime.

Dee Brown paced the Illini with 16 points and five assists. The Redhawks are 4-7 and Illinois is 13-0.