Domask gets triple-double as No. 3 seed Illinois beats Morehead State in NCAA tourney

1 of 16 |

Illinois forward Dain Dainja (42) celebrates after a dunk against Morehead State in the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/John Peterson)

2 of 16 |

Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) is congratulated by forward Marcus Domask (3) after hitting a basket and being fouled in the first half of a first-round college basketball game against Morehead State in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

3 of 16 |

Morehead State guard Riley Minix (22) shoots over Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins (33) in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

4 of 16 |

Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) makes a steal on Morehead State guard Drew Thelwell (3) in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/John Peterson)

5 of 16 |

Illinois forward Dain Dainja (42) shoots in front of Morehead State guard Riley Minix (22) and forward Zach Iyeyemi (5) in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/John Peterson)

6 of 16 |

Morehead State guard Riley Minix (22) and Illinois guard Justin Harmon (4) go for a loose ball in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

7 of 16 |

Morehead State guard Eddie Ricks III (4) shoots over Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins (33) in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

8 of 16 |

Illinois guard Luke Goode (10) and Morehead State guard Kalil Thomas (15) go up for a rebound in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

9 of 16 |

Morehead State guard Jordan Lathon (2) drives on Illinois guard Luke Goode (10) in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

10 of 16 |

Morehead State guard Drew Thelwell (3) drives on Illinois guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (2) in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

11 of 16 |

Morehead State guard Jordan Lathon (2) shoots around Illinois forward Ty Rodgers (20) in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

12 of 16 |

Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins (33) and Morehead State guard Kalil Thomas (15) go up for a rebound in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

13 of 16 |

14 of 16 |

Illinois forward Dain Dainja (42) grabs a rebound in the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/John Peterson)

15 of 16 |

Illinois forward Dain Dainja (42) gets a dunk against Morehead State in the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/John Peterson)

16 of 16 |

Illinois forward Dain Dainja, right, grabs a rebound in front of Morehead State forward Zach Iyeyemi (5) in the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/John Peterson)

By ERIC OLSON

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Marcus Domask posted the NCAA Tournament’s first triple-double since 2019 and Terrence Shannon scored 26 points, helping No. 3 seed Illinois pull away from No. 14 Morehead State for an 85-69 first-round win on Thursday.

Domask had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his first career triple-double. It was the first triple-double in the NCAA tourney since Ja Morant accomplished the feat and the 10th ever.

“It’s definitely a cool accomplishment to have my name up there with some of the greats, and so few have done it so far,” Domask said. “At this point in my career I’m past the personal accolades. At this point in March, it’s all about winning. That’s all I’m trying to do.”

Dain Dainja scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the Illini shook off the pesky Eagles. Dainja went 9 for 9 from the field and matched his career high with eight rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.

“I try to come out and do whatever I can to help the team win, whatever that looks like, whether that’s me rim-running or rebounding,” Dainja said. “This is a team effort. We’re in it together.”

Kansas guard Nicolas Timberlake (25) brings the ball up-court between Samford forward Nathan Johnson, left, and guard Dallas Graziani (12) during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Isaac Hale)

Jayhawks get friendly late whistle to advance in March Madness with 93-89 victory over Samford

Washington State's Isaac Jones (13) is fouled on his way to the basket by Drake's Darnell Brodie (51) during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Washington State survives maddening 2nd half to beat Drake 66-61 in March Madness

North Carolina State's Ben Middlebrooks (34) shoots against Texas Tech's Darrion Williams (5) during the second half of a college basketball game in the first round of the men's NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Ben Middlebrooks scores career-high 21 points, N.C. State stays hot in 80-67 win over Texas Tech

Next up for Illinois (27-8) is No. 11 seed Duquesne (25-11) on Saturday. The Dukes advanced with a 71-67 victory over BYU.

Riley Minix led the Eagles with 27 points, giving him at least 20 in 13 of his last 14 games. Jordan Lathon added 23 points.

“We tell our team there will be times we don’t play very well and win,” Eagles coach Preston Spradlin said, “and there are going to be times we play extremely well and come up short. That is that instance here today. If you’re going to have your season end, we want to check three boxes: Play well, stay together, and we truly did that despite the score, and then you want to lose to a worthy opponent, and Illinois was.”

Ohio Valley Conference champion Morehead State (26-9) dictated the action early. Minix, Kalil Thomas and Lathon made three straight 3s to get the Eagles out to a 9-0 lead before two minutes were gone.

Then Shannon picked up where he left off in the Big Ten Tournament, when he averaged 34 points while leading the Illini to the title.

Shannon, who had 19 points in the first half, took an outlet pass that was nearly intercepted by Drew Thelwell and went unimpeded to the basket for a big dunk. Then he hit a 3 from the wing, and a few minutes later he snaked to the basket for a layup.

It was Dainja’s turn to star in the second half. The 6-foot-9, 255-pounder caused major problems for whoever was guarding him. He scored 13 of the Illini’s first 17 points to break open the game.

Domask was a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference pick in his four seasons at Southern Illinois. He transferred to Illinois for his final season to play on the stage he was on Thursday.

“Through the portal and in the process, me and (Illinois coach Brad Underwood) pretty much had conversations about winning big games in March,” Domask said. “I trusted Coach and felt we had an opportunity to do that here. This is where all the time you put in the gym pays off.”

The loss ended the college career of Minix, a two-time NAIA All-American at Southeastern University in Florida who transferred to Morehead State for his final season. He was the OVC player of the year.

“I wanted to challenge myself to play at the Division I level and make it to this point,” Minix said. “I credit my teammates for allowing me to. We got to where I wanted to be and they allowed my dream come true.”

UP NEXT

Illinois is trying to get past the tournament’s first weekend for the first time in nine appearances since it played in the 2005 championship game.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

ERIC OLSON

Olson is an Associated Press sports writer based in Omaha, Nebraska. He covers Nebraska, Creighton, the Big Ten and national college sports issues.