ruled safe, but the call was reversed in a replay re

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois forward Malcolm Hill missed his first four shots from the field Friday, mirroring his teams slow start in the season opener against Southeast Missouri State.But the senior was pulling down rebounds, and the shots started falling late in the first half.Hill finished with 21 points and eight rebounds to lead the Illini past Southeast Missouri 81-62.Maverick Morgan added 16 points for Illinois and was 8 of 8 from the field. Michael Finke scored 12 and pulled down seven rebounds, while sixth-year guard Tracy Abrams scored 13 in his return after two-straight seasons out with injuries.Southeast Missouri opened hot, riding Antonius Clevelands eight early points for a 25-18 lead and keeping a sparse opening-night crowd quiet.But the Illini turned their defense up and started finding the basket, going on a 12-0 run to turn that seven-point deficit into a 30-25 lead on a 3-pointer from the left corner from guard Tracy Abrams.Illinois coach John Groce was happy his team survived the early charge, something he credited to having a team heavy on seniors.When our shots werent going in early, I thought our defense was kind of porous early, yet we kind of just kept hanging in there, Groce said.Illinois finished the night 58.6 percent from the field, including 19-22 from 2-pount range.The key to turning on Illinois defense was communication, Abrams said.We talked a little bit more down the stretch, we took on the challenge even more. We started talking more.Southeast Missouri coach Rick Ray liked his teams fast start. But the Redhawks did not respond on defense when Illinois started finding the basket, he said.I told our guys I have every confidence well be able to score the ball, a hoarse Ray said. The question is defense and rebounds.Milos Vranes led Southeast Missouri with 12 points. Cleveland finished with 10.BIG PICTURESoutheast Missouri: The Redhawks are coming off a 5-24 season and struggled in their only exhibition game, trailing by six at the half against Division II Missouri S&T before pulling out an 84-77 win. After taking the early lead on Friday, the Redhawks were mostly outmanned against a team with far bigger players. One of their biggest problems was on the boards. The Illini outrebounded Southeast Missouri 37-22.Illinois: One of Illinois most pressing early questions will be who emerges as the primary point guards. The team lacked a true point guard at times last season, one of the key problems in a 15-19 season. Abrams started Friday and senior Jaylon Tate backed him up but also shared the court at time, playing 25 minutes and scoring just two points but dishing out six assists. Talented freshman TeJon Lucas didnt play until 17 seconds were left in the game. Abrams night was encouraging.Groce said he liked the combination of Abrams and Tate on the floor together against a team that specializes in forcing turnovers.Those guys know each other like the back of their hands. I thought they had some good chemistry, he said.WELCOME BACKAbrams hadnt played a regular-season game in two full seasons before Friday. He missed all of 2014-15 with a torn Achilles tendon and all of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament tear. He was a welcome sight Friday, scoring the first points for the Illini on a 3-pointer less than two minutes into the game. He played 27 minutes.BIG MENIllinois is deep in big men, with Morgan and Michael Finke -- both 6-foot-10 -- and the 6-foot-11 Mike Thorne Jr. Morgan and Finke spent much of the night on the floor together. Between them the three scored 30 and had 15 rebounds.UP NEXTSoutheast Missouris home opener will be Sunday against Hannibal-LaGrange, an NAIA school in Hannibal, Missouri.Illinois hosts Northern Kentucky Sunday in the second game of a five-game homestand.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.orgFollow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAP NFL Gear From China . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Nike NFL Jerseys . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. http://www.jerseyschinanfl.com/ . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Cheap NFL Shop .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Cheap NFL Jerseys Factory . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. MIAMI -- Cincinnati Reds left-hander John Lamb seemed to throw as softly as he could when he struck out Chris Johnson in the fourth inning on three pitches, each a 67-mph curve.Their guy had us baffled for a few innings, Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. He seemed to have us on a string.Lamb totaled a career-high nine strikeouts in five innings Saturday, and in keeping with this miserable season for Cincinnati, that wasnt enough. The Reds made a series of costly mistakes and lost 4-2 Saturday.We needed a couple of things to go right that potentially could have brought that game to a different outcome, manager Bryan Price said.Miamis Martin Prado went 3 for 3 and capped a rally in the fifth inning with a two-out, two-run double that right fielder Jay Bruce misjudged. J.T. Realmuto added two hits and scored three times.All-Star Adam Duvall hit his 23rd home run for the Reds, and Brandon Phillips had two hits and an RBI with a broken left hand. Phillips played less than 24 hours after suffering a hairline fracture when he was hit by a pitch from Jose Fernandez.Too often the last-place Reds hurt themselves, and the Marlins capitalized.You take wins any way you can get them, Mattingly said. Weve had some losses in these kind of games.Defensive lapses contributed to all three runs against Lamb (1-6), with one unearned. Worst was the misplay by Bruce hours after he was added to the NL All-Star team.Obviously it looked terrible, and it was embarrassing, Bruce said. I felt like I had plenty of time. I looked back up and it wasnt where I thought it was going to be.Prado wasnt optimistic when the ball left his bat, and Mattingly also underestimated the opposite-field fly. It fell behind a retreating Bruce.It was weird -- the balll kept carrying for some reason, Prado said.ddddddddddddIt had a weird spin.Conservative baserunning likely cost Cincinnati a run in the fifth. Catcher Ramon Cabrera led off with an apparent triple to right field, but third base coach Billy Hatcher stopped him at second.There were some opportunities for us to cash in on a few things offensively, Price said.Miami center fielder Marcell Ozuna threw out Phillips trying to advance from first to third on a single in the seventh. Phillips was initially ruled safe, but the call was reversed in a replay review, and the Reds failed to score despite three hits in the inning.Just an incredible throw, Mattingly said. Thank God for replay, right?Cincinnati also dropped the ball on a rundown but still came managed the putout, however unsightly. It was scored 1-3-6-3-1-4.Adam Conley (6-5) singled to start a rally, raising his average to .065. The left-hander also limited Cincinnati to two runs in 5 2/3 innings.Four relievers combined for 3 1/3 shutout innings. A.J. Ramos pitched around a walk in the ninth for his 27th save and was helped by shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who made a leaping catch of a liner by Phillips.Miami has won the first two games of the series while outscoring Cincinnati 7-3.The Marlins scored an unearned run in the first inning when Lamb threw a curve that crossed up and eluded Cabrera, allowing Realmuto to score from third on a passed ball.My fault, Lamb said. Coming into the game we knew our signs and I happened to have a brain cramp.UP NEXTMarlins RHP Tom Koehler (6-7, 4.40) is scheduled to start Sunday against LHP Cody Reed (0-3, 9.00). ' ' '