CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Malcolm Hill made sure Illinois didnt step off the gas pedal Friday night so that the Illini could took care of business against Detroit Mercy, 89-69.The senior, who scored 25 points, led his team to a quick start after the intermission, when his team was up 39-30 and it seemed like the Titans would close the gap even more.Im always in an aggressive attack more, but this was one of those games where I needed to start strong in the second half, Hill said.Illinois (4-0) continued its strong start to the season in the opening game of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.The Illini had little trouble scoring, shooting 27of 52 from the field and 8 of 19 from 3-point range. Friday marked the second straight game the Illini had difficulty shooting from the free throw line however, finishing 27of 38.Tracy Abrams continued to have a strong return to basketball, scoring 15 points and finishing with four rebounds, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.Groce knows the importance a balanced offense can have on his team.If you can have a balance of paint touches with that outside shooting, it puts opponents in dilemmas, Groce said.Detroit Mercy (1-2) had trouble keeping up with Illinois fast offensive pace from the start of the game. The Titans never led.Josh McFolley and Jaleel Hogan both led the way with 16 points for a team that finished shooting 43 percent from the field and 24 percent from beyond the arc.The Titans fell behind in most categories against the Illini, but Detroit Mercy head coach Bacari Alexander felt Illinois won the game down in the post, where the Illini won the rebound battle 39-29.They took advantage of those opportunities (in the post), Alexander said. (But) I like the direction this team is going in.BIG PICTUREIllinois: The Illini have played as they should against the type of opponents theyve faced so far this year. The team has one game left against relatively easy competition before facing No. 19 West Virginia at the Barclays Center in New York.Detroit Mercy: Although the game was never really close after the first few minutes, the Titans found some scoring opportunities and will need to continue to do that in the rest of the tournament.ROLE PLAYERGroce thought bench player D.J. Williams had his best overall performance of the year. The sophomore wing scored six points.LETDOWNAfter a strong start to the season, center Maverick Morgan had his worst night of the season, finishing with six points and zero rebounds and fouling out with more than five minutes left in the game.UP NEXTIllinois will continue play in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament when it hosts Winthrop in Champaign on Monday.Detroit Mercy will try to bounce back Monday when it travels to Florida State to play its second game in the NIT Season Tip-Off.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org Jalen Brunson Jersey . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. 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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Martin Flores birdied five of the last seven holes for a 5-under 66 and a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web.com Tour Finals Nationwide Childrens Hospital Championship.Already guaranteed a PGA Tour card with a fifth-place finish on the Web.com Tours regular-season money list, the 34-year-old Flores rebounded from a bogey on No. 11 with birdies on the next four holes and closed with a birdie on 18. He had a 13-under 20 total on Ohio States Scarlet Course.Im not going to change anything, Flores said. I respect every individual out here, and I know that anybody can put together a hot round, so Ive got to keep doing what Im doing. I know the golf course is very, very difficult and its going to be a challenge.Flores won the Lincoln Land Charity Championship in July for his first Web.com Tour title.I struggled early with lag putting, Flores said. I was leaving everything short. Just struggled with the speed. Then as the round went on I started to hit the ball close quite a few times, but I started getting the speed a lot better. So I was very happy with that.Tag Ridings, tied with Flores for the second-round lead, was second after a 69. The 42-year-old Ridings was 52nd on the Web.com money list and entered the third of four series events 36th in the race for 25 PGA Tour cards with $9,493.It feels great always, Ridings said. It feels really good on this golf course to actually beat it three days in a row. So Im going to try to just stay focused on doing that.dddddddddddd Youve got to beat it off the tee and then you can play in from there.The series features the top 75 players from the Web.com regular-season money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tours FedEx Cup standings and non-members with enough PGA Tour money to have placed in the top 200 in the FedEx Cup had they been eligible.Flores and the other top-25 finishers on the Web.com money list earned PGA Tour cards. They are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals.The other players are fighting for 25 cards based on series earnings . The last PGA Tour card went at $33,650 in 2013, $36,312 in 2014 and $32,206 last year.Grayson Murray was third at 9 under after a 68. He earned a PGA Tour card with by finishing 18th on the Web.com money list.Mexicos Carlos Ortiz (66) and Australias Cameron Smith (67) were 8 under. Ortiz was 172nd in the FedEx Cups standings and missed the cuts in the first two series events. Smith was 157th in the FedEx Cups standings and is 48th in the card chase with $6,910.Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton was tied for sixth at 7 under after a 70. He was 173rd in the FedEx Cup standings and is 63rd among the players vying for the 25 cards with $4,000. 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