CHICAGO, Idaho, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Brian Cook had season highs of 25 points and 11 rebounds Saturday as 14th-ranked Illinois remained unbeaten with a 70-54 victory over Temple.
Cook, who was named Big Ten Conference Player of the Week for averaging 20.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in victories over North Carolina and Arkansas, scored 16 points in the final 20 minutes when Illinois (7-0) extended a 30-27 halftime lead.
Point guard Dee Brown was scoreless in the first half, but contributed 13 points after the break as the Fighting Illini improved to 17-6 all-time on the home court of the NBA's Chicago Bulls.
David Hawkins matched his season high with 22 points for Temple (1-6), which is off to the worst start in school history and fell to 3-3 all time against Illinois. The Owls played their second straight game without coach John Chaney, who is recovering from pneumonia.
