ILLHoops Tournament: Quarterfinals

Desmar Jackson's 22 and 11 helped #9 SIU upset #1 ISU in Normal

The scene moved from the campus sites to Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University for Friday's Quarterfinals. As ISU was the regular season champion, they earned the chance to host the Quarterfinals and Semifinals of the ILLHoops Tournament. The Redbirds went 10-2 at home, but would the home-court advantage be enough to help them advance to the Semis? Below are the results of each quarterfinal matchup:

#3 Western Illinois 62, #11 Chicago State 46

Western was able to control the tempo and stop Chicago State's shooters in route to the victory. After scorching Loyola for 17 points, Quinton Pippen was held to 10 in this game on only 8 shots. For Western, Terell Parks pulled down 19 points and 13 rebounds while Ceola Clark chipped in 13 points of his own, with three of his four field goals coming from beyond the arc.

#2 DePaul 69, #7 Northwestern 61

This game went down the wire, but in the end DePaul was able to pull out the W. While Cleveland Melvin picked up a double-double (15 pts, 12 rebs) and Donnavan Kirk chipped in 11 and 6, the real spark came off the bench. Worrell Clahar lead all scorers with 16 points off the bench, going 6 of 10 from the field. For Northwestern, Reggie Hearn was held to 12 points after exploding for 32 in the First Round. Alex Olah pulled down 12 and 9 along with 4 blocks. Tre Demps (11 pts) and Dave Sobolewski (10 pts) also made big contributions for the Wildcats in the loss.

#5 Bradley 68, #4 Illinois 59

Despite 14 points each from Brandon Paul and Joseph Bertrand, Illinois was undone by the Bradley Braves in Normal. The Braves played tough defense forced several Illini to shoot poorly, including Tracy Abrams and DJ Richardson going a combined 2/14 from the field. Bradley also used their length to control the game, with Will Egolf pulling down 14 boards and both Tyshon Pickett and Jake Eastman coming up with 12 points each. Also awaken: Walt Lemon. After scoring 8 in the First Round, Lemon would go on to lead all scorers with 16 points off of 6/13 shooting.

#9 Southern Illinois 76, #1 Illinois State 68

In what will probably go down as the upset of the tournament, SIU was able to knock off #1 Illinois State in what was essentially a road game, stunning the Redbird Arena crowd. The Salukis can give all their thanks to Desmar Jackson, who exploded for 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals. While he was a force by his self, SIU as a whole shot 49% from the field as a team. That isn't to say, ISU didn't play well, as they picked up big contributions from Jackie Carmichael (11 pts, 11 rebs), Tyler Brown (16 pts), Johnny Hill (13 pts), and John Wilkins (12 pts). In the end, however, it was the Salukis - more specifically Desmar's - offensive explosion that helped Carbondale stun Illinois State in their own arena.

With those results in place, Saturday's semifinals matchups are as follows:

#2 DePaul vs. #3 Western Illinois

#5 Bradley vs. #9 Southern Illinois