Domask and Shannon became the first Division I teammates to each score at least 30 points on 70 percent shooting in a game since Thomas Kenney and Drew Samuels did it for Marist in a 119-108 loss to Niagara in January 1999.

Playing in this event for the second consecutive year, the Fighting Illini (7-1) won their fifth consecutive game thanks to Domask and Shannon, who combined for 49 points after halftime and finished a combined 25 of 35 from the field.

“I knew going in that was a smaller team so we could probably have our way inside,” Domask said. “Just trying to play within the offense. Terrence probably yells at me more than the coaches telling me to be aggressive and stuff like that.”

Playing at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic for the second straight season, the Fighting Illini picked up their first ranked win of the season in the nine-point win.

Domask and Shannon took over in the second half, combining to score 49 of the team’s 59 second-half points. They shot nearly 75% in the final period of play, and they each knocked down two 3-pointers after halftime.

Domask went on a stretch of seven consecutive baskets and he shot 71.4 percent from the field, including 11-15 in the final period of play. Domask also grabbed a team-high six rebounds and three assists.

Shannon shot 71.4 percent, hit 11 of his 13 free throws and dished out two assists.

Justin Harmon registered a season-high 10 points and he converted both of his 3-point attempts in his 22 minutes of action, his most this campaign.

Coleman Hawkins did a little bit of everything, finishing his night with nine points, two rebounds, two assists, one block, and a team-high three steals.

The Fighting Illini shot a season-best 63.2 percent as a team, outscored the Owls in the paint, 48-36, and dominated the margin in fast-break points, 9-0.

Illinois shot 63 percent and surged ahead in the second half.

Domask shot 15 of 21 and surpassed his previous career high of 32 points set Jan. 29 for Southern Illinois at Illinois State. His big performance Tuesday came after he’d been held under double figures five times in seven games since transferring to Illinois.

“He’s unstoppable,” Shannon said. “I’m always on him about being aggressive and he (was) tonight and I was really proud of that, and he could do that every night.”

Shannon went 10 for 14 and hit 11 of 13 free throws a year after leading Illinois to an overtime victory against Texas in this event. He topped his previous career high of 30 points set versus Monmouth in November 2022.

“Obviously, those two were pretty special tonight,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “Heck of a college basketball game. That was terrific. It’s not often you shoot 63 percent and you need all of that to win.”

Vladislav Goldin had a career-best 23 points before fouling out in the final minute for Florida Atlantic (7-2), which made its first appearance at Madison Square Garden since beating Tennessee and Kansas State in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament in March to reach its first Final Four.

Johnell Davis added 19 points as the Owls shot 48% from the field. But they had few answers for Domask and Shannon on defense.

“Shannon is one of the most dynamic wings in the country and when we didn’t get our defense set and he had any seams or gaps in transition, he did a great job of attacking and getting downhill and was able to convert,” Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May said. “Domask, he was great. Obviously he took advantage of some of the things we typically are OK giving up and he continued to punish us.”

Shannon and Domask pushed Illinois to a 10-point lead with about 6 1/2 minutes left. Florida Atlantic twice cut it to two, but the Illini made nine free throws the rest of the way to ice it.

Coleman Hawkins returned to the starting lineup for Illinois after missing three games with a knee injury. The senior forward had six points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes.

The Owls have been inconsistent on defense. They’ve held opponents under 70 points in five games this season, but allowed at least 80 three times. They gave up 86 in a five-point win over Butler on Nov. 23 and 89 in a seven-point victory against Texas A&M a day later.

Rebounding was a major strength until Tuesday, when the Illini were outrebounded 28-26 and gave up 12 offensive boards. Illinois outrebounded Rutgers 55-28 in its Big Ten opener Saturday.

Illinois plays at No. 17 Tennessee on Saturday and Florida Atlantic will host Florida International on Dec. 13.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration announced Tuesday that it is scrapping plans for a temporary winter camp for migrants in Chicago, citing the risk of contaminants at the former industrial site.

The setback comes as Chicago struggles to house more than 24,000 migrants arriving from the border with Mexico since August of last year, most in buses sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, according to city data released Tuesday. With the coldest weather looming — and despite a partnership with religious leaders to provide temporary housing — hundreds of asylum-seekers still await placement at airports and police stations, some of them still camped on sidewalks outside precinct buildings.

Responding to the urgent need, the state put up $65 million for a tent camp in Brighton Park designed to hold 2,000, and for permanent structures at a 200-bed site in the Little Village neighborhood giving priority to families and people with disabilities.

Construction at the Brighton Park site began last week despite residents’ protests that the 9-acre (3.6-hectare) property is polluted and would risk the health of any migrants housed there. According to an environmental report released Friday that identified contaminants, the site was previously home to a railyard with tanks and oil houses, a zinc smelter and truck trailer parking.

The city released a study late Friday from consultant Terracon that detailed the discovery and removal of sections of soil from the Brighton Park site that contained higher-than-expected levels of mercury and other contaminants.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office gave assurances Monday, based on Terracon’s findings, that the shelter site was safe for temporary residential use. That was before Pritzker’s office pulled the plug on it after the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency reviewed the nearly 800-page environmental report. By then, several large white tents outfitted with HVAC units had already been erected there.

“My administration is committed to keeping asylum seekers safe as we work to help them achieve independence,” Pritzker said in a statement. “We will not proceed with housing families on a site where serious environmental concerns are still present.”

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency concluded that more testing was needed to ensure the site was safe.

“The well-being of residents and workers at the site is our highest priority, and current and planned site conditions do not adequately reduce risks of human exposure to known and potential environmental conditions,” said Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim.

Alderwoman Julia Ramirez, the City Council representative for the ward hosting the site, opposed the project over safety concerns.

“I am glad that the Governor’s office decided not to continue using this lot for shelter and made sure that we are stepping up to the responsibility of caring for the health of immigrant families and residents,” she said, adding the search for safe shelter must continue.

Construction was halted Monday while the state’s environmental agency evaluated the report, which compiled laboratory results assessing the site’s soil, groundwater, and soil gas.

An analysis found excess levels of mercury, four metals, DEHP — a chemical present in plastic products — and two semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), which can be found in pesticides, oil-based products, and fire retardants.

The soil surrounding the flagged samples was excavated and disposed offsite, and a barrier was constructed to limit access to that soil, according to the report.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said in a statement Monday that with such safeguards, the site was safe for temporary housing. After the project was canceled Tuesday, Johnson told reporters “the mission is still very much alive” to find shelter for immigrants sleeping outdoors.

City officials did not immediately respond to an inquiry as to whether alternative sites were being considered.

Yimara Pajaro, a Venezuelan seamstress, said she and her partner camped outside a South Side police station for two months before being moved into a church for temporary shelter last week.

Sleeping outside in Chicago, after several snowfalls and subfreezing nights this fall, left them in bad shape, said Pajaro. She suffered three asthma attacks worsened by the cold.

Pajaro said she wouldn’t want to move to a shelter designed to hold thousands, like the one planned for Brighton Park. And if the site is polluted, “they should not bring anyone there,” she said. “We will get sick. It seems like our health doesn’t matter to them.”

Mayors of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York have been pressing for more federal aid to accommodate the new arrivals. Migrants have been arriving in the Democrat-led cities on buses funded by the Republican governors of Texas and Florida. Critics initially decried that as a political stunt, but more than a year later, the cities are struggling to cope with the influx amid dwindling resources.

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Savage is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

ILLINOIS — Sixteen hospitals in Illinois made the grade in a new ranking of the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care for 2023-24 released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

The ranking of 680 hospitals nationwide is a guide for parents making one of the most important decisions of their lives — where their baby will be born. Each hospital participating in the U.S. News survey received a scorecard describing their performance on a checklist of items parents look for when choosing where to have their baby.

Jennifer Winston, a health data scientist for U.S. News, said the top hospitals in the survey are those with a “high performing” designation for care given to patients with uncomplicated pregnancies. These hospitals had Cesarean Section rates of 26 percent or lower and newborn complication rates of 37 percent or lower, Winston explained in a news release.

Of the 26 Illinois hospitals that participated in the U.S. News maternity services survey, the following received the high-performing designation:

• Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington
• Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago
• Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge
• Advocate Sherman Hospital, Elgin
• Advocate South Suburban Hospital, Hazel Crest
• Memorial Hospital of Carbondale
• Northshore University Health System-Metro Chicago
• Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights
• Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, Geneva
• Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital, DeKalb
• Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital
• Northwestern Medicine-McHenry, Huntley, Woodstock Hospitals
• Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
• Rush Copley Medical Center, Aurora
• Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, Mattoon

New to the rankings this year is the inaugural “Maternity Care Access Hospitals” list, which highlights 73 hospitals providing services in what otherwise would be maternity care deserts that have “left millions of people without local access to maternity care” in some parts of the country, Winston said.

In Illinois Maternity Care Access Hospitals are:

• Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center
• Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital
• Northwestern Medicine McHenry, Huntley, Woodstock Hospitals

Other Illinois hospitals that completed the U.S. News survey, but did not rank as “high performing” were:

• Advocate Christ Medical Center
• Advocate Condell Medical Center
• Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital
• Advocate Trinity Hospital
• Alton Memorial Hospital
• Memorial Hospital, Belleville
• Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital
• Rush University Medical Saturday
• University of Chicago Medical Center
• University of Illinois Hospital

The hospitals are ranked on objective measures of quality. Including C-section rate, lower-risk pregnancies, newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, early elective delivery rates, birthing-friendly practices and transparency on racial/ethnic disparities, among other measures. Read more about the methodology.