URBANA — If the Uni High Illineks continue to play as well as they did Monday night, it could be quite an impressive season for the defending champions of the East Central Illinois Conference.

Five players — all seniors — scored in double digits as Uni overwhelmed the Shiloh Raiders 80-32 at Kenney Gym in the opening night of the Central Illinois Turkey Tourney.

All of the five scorers were starters or major contributors on last year’s squad, which went 15-13 overall, 11-1 in the ECIC. Mike Renner and Austin Rundus led the Illineks with 13 points apiece. Point guard Chumar Williams had 12 points and a team-high 11 assists.

"I thought the team played pretty well in the second half," said head coach Joel Beesley. "The first half was a little sluggish at times and we allowed them to dictate the tempo of the game, which slowed it down. I thought the second half we did a much better job of speeding up the process and being aggressive."

Also scoring in double digits were Frankie McFarland, who had 11 points and a team-high 7 rebounds, and Isaac Radnitzer, who added 12 points. Renner and senior Ammar Rizwan grabbed 6 and 5 boards, respectively.

Renner entered this season as Uni's third all-time leading scorer. He now has 1,084 points, putting him just 29 behind 1963 graduate Doug Brown (1,113) for second place. Renner's brother Alex, who graduated in 2006, holds the school record with 1,372 points.

The Raiders stayed fairly close to the Illineks in the early going, as both teams began by shooting sluggishly. But Uni pulled away at the end of the half on treys by Rundus and Williams, taking a 33-19 lead into the locker room.

Something must have ignited the Illineks during halftime, as the game was never in doubt from then on out. In the third quarter, the Illineks used their superior athleticism and strong defensive pressure to extend their lead to 54-25.

"We just talked and decided we were going to do the same thing," said Beesley. "[We would] just try to speed up the tempo."

By the end of the game, Uni had finished a 47-13 second-half run despite playing all 11 members of the varsity squad. Nine of those players scored.

"It's a total nine-person effort out there," said Beesley.

The 1-0 Illineks will host Buckley Christ Lutheran tonight at 8 in the second day of the Central Illinois Turkey Tourney.

Also on Monday in CITT action, the Uni JV lost narrowly to the Bement JV 26-25.