The dynamic brother combo of Dwayne and Damian Buckley led the Concordia Stingers to an electrifying 86-82 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini in university men’s basketball action at Concordia gym on Sunday afternoon.
Dwayne, a fourth-year forward, was the leading scorer in the game with 28 points. He went 10 for 14 from the field, including two three-pointers. He also went six for seven from the free-throw line.
Damian, a third-year guard, had 24 points. He was six for nine from the field and 12 of 17 from the line.
Overall, Concordia shot 57.1 per cent from the field while Illinois shot 47.7 per cent. From the line Concordia was 23 of 30 or 77 per cent. Illinois shot just 47.8 per cent, sinking only 11 of 23 shots.
The leading scorer for Illinois was senior Shaun Pruitt, a six-foot-10, 245-pound centre, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. He played 23 minutes.
The Fighting Illini’s Jeffrey Jordan, son of NBA legend Michael Jordan, collected seven points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of playing time. The six-foot-two rookie guard is a walk-on with Illinois.
The Fighting Illini have won 17 Big Ten conference championships, including titles in 2004 and 2005. Illinois has 27 NCAA Tournament appearances to their credit and have made it to the NCAA Final Four on five occasions.
Under the direction of current coach Bruce Weber, Illinois made it to the national championship game in 2005, losing 75-70 to the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Illinois is on a five-game tour of Eastern Canada. The Fighting Illini defeated the Carleton Ravens 74-72 in overtime on Friday and then went on to dominate the Ottawa Gee-Gees 73-56 on Saturday. They have two games remaining - both of which will be hosted by McGill University tomorrow.
The Quebec university basketball season gets under way in November. In the coming months Concordia will play in a couple of tournaments and travel to the U.S. for several more exhibition games versus top NCAA opponents, including Arizona and Maryland.
