Illinois 80, Georgia Southern 71: Rayvonte Rice scored 24 points and the host Fighting Illini held off the stubborn Eagles.

Rice finished 8-for-12 from the field for Illinois (1-0), hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Aaron Cosby added 16 points, Malcolm Hill scored 11 and Ahmad Starks finished with 10, but the Fighting Illini were tied at 31 at halftime and did not put the game away until the final minutes.

Jelani Hewitt hit five 3-pointers en route to scoring a team-high 22 points for Georgia Southern (0-1), which shot 35.9 percent from the field and committed 16 turnovers. Trent Wiedeman contributed 17 points with nine rebounds in his Georgia Southern debut.

Illinois led by as many as 11 in the early minutes but Georgia Southern weathered the storm, taking a 22-19 lead with 6:31 left in the opening half on back-to-back Hewitt 3-pointers. Two three-point plays from Wiedeman and two Angel Matias’ baskets helped the Eagles forge a 41-41 tie four minutes into the second half.

Cosby’s 3-pointer with 7:22 to play gave the Fighting Illini a 59-50 lead, but the Eagles battled back to within 64-61 on two Hewitt free throws with 4:29 remaining. Rice hit two free throws on the ensuing possession, jump-starting a game-ending 16-10 run during which Cosby and Rice drained 3-pointers.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Illinois leads the all-time series 4-0 and has won 41 consecutive regular-season home games against non-conference competition. … Hewitt converted a four-point play with just over six minutes to play. … Hill shot 7-for-10 from the free-throw line as Illinois finished 27-for-34.