CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A pair of 20-point nights from Aaron Jordan and Trent Frazier spearheaded a runaway performance from one of the Big Ten's top offenses as Illinois upended Longwood 92-45 Wednesday night at State Farm Center.
 
Jordan poured in a game-high 22 points, while Frazier added 20 to power the Fighting Illini (8-4) to back-to-back 40-point halves against the short-handed Lancers. Illinois' second-leading scorer Michael Finke added 19 on 8-of-10 shooting to finish as one of four double-figure scorers for Illinois, which topped 90 points for the fifth time this season.
 
Longwood (3-7), playing without injured starters Damarion Geter and Charles Glover, struggled to slow down the No. 3 scoring offense in the Big Ten as the Illini shot .466 (34-of-73) from the field and knocked down 11 three-pointers. Backed by a combined 23-for-40 shooting effort from Finke, Frazier and Jordan, Illinois got up 26 more shots than the Lancers.
 
The Illini were hot from the opening tipoff, hitting nine of their first 16 field goal attempts en route to a double-digit lead by the 10-minute mark in the first half. Longwood's lone sniff at a lead came when B.K. Ashe hit a three-pointer at the 12:27 mark that put the Lancers ahead 12-10.
 
Illinois responded to Ashe's trey with 11 consecutive points and cruised the rest of the way.
 
Already down two starters, Longwood's shorthanded roster suffered another blow when leading scorer Isaiah Walton left the game with 15:55 left to play in the second half. Forwards Jordan Cintron and Spencer Franklin also fouled out, leaving the Lancers with just seven available players by the game's end.
 
In the absence of those contributors, Ashe and Chris Shields finished with eight points apiece for Longwood, while JaShaun Smith added 10 for his third double-digit performance in his past five games. Shields grabbed six rebounds to lead Longwood in rebounding for the fifth straight game, while Ashe hauled in five rebounds of his own and dished three assists.
 
The loss comes in the midst of a grueling December stretch for the Lancers, who return home briefly to host Cornell this Saturday, Dec. 16, but then cross into another time zone again the following week. Longwood's last two non-conference games of the year both take place in Arizona, pitting the Lancers against No. 5 and undefeated Arizona State on Dec. 19 and at 7-2 Grand Canyon on Dec. 21.
 
Longwood's last three non-conference games lead into the Big South opener against Charleston Southern on Dec. 30 in Charleston, S.C.
 
#GoWood