Illinois Picks Up Victory Over Nebraska, College Scores

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Published on March 5 2015 6:36 am
Last Updated on March 5 2015 7:33 am
Written by Millie Lange

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Rayvonte Rice scored 23 and led Illinois to a badly needed win over Nebraska Wednesday, 69-57.

The Illini (19-11, 9-8 Big Ten) have won two straight as they look for a way into the NCAA tournament.

Nebraska (13-16, 5-12) has lost seven games in a row and nine of its last 10.

Rice had a quiet six-point first half but scored 17 in the second 20 minutes. That included seven straight over a key stretch midway through the half that brought Illinois back from a 40-39 deficit to a 46-42 lead.

Kendrick Nunn and Leron Black added 11 each for Illinois.

Shavon Shields led Nebraska with 14 points. Terran Petteway added 13.

Illinois started slow but scrapped for a 31-23 lead with 55 seconds in the first half on a 3-pointer by Rice.

The Cornhuskers answered with a 13-0 run over the next 5:30, taking a 36-31 lead. Shields scored seven of those points, including a 3-pointer with 17:09 left in the game to put Nebraska up 34-31, its first lead since midway through the first half. Rice finally ended the drought for the Illini, hitting another 3-pointer with 15:25 left in the game to close the gap to two points, 36-34.

Then Rice took over.

His seven straight gave the Illini a lead they wouldn't give up.

 

EIU Downs SIUE In OVC Tournament

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Eastern Illinois had four players score in double figures as the Panthers won their first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament game since 2010 on Wednesday night with a 78-66 win over SIU Edwardsville at Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

EIU improved to 17-13 overall and will play No. 3 seed Belmont on Thursday night at 8 p.m. SIUE ended the season at 12-16.

The Panthers led 30-26 at the half as EIU had balanced scoring from Chris Olivier and Trae Anderson, both finishing with nine points in the first half.

In the second half EIU dumped the ball in the low block to Olivier as they extended the lead to 39-28 on a dunk by the junior post player. Olivier was 10-of-13 from the field finishing with 24 points.

Maurice Wiltz had a 3-pointer and a jumper to cut into the Panthers lead as Wiltz jumper at 12:46 trimmed EIU's lead to six points. Keaton Jackson would hit a free throw with 8:20 to play to cut the margin to five.

Each time EIU was able to answer as Cornell Johnston took aim from 3-point range in the second half. Johnston finished with 22 points hitting 5-of-6 from 3-point range. EIU was 9-of-20 from 3-point range for the game while shooting 50 percent from the field.

An Olivier lay-up with 4:01 to play staked EIU to a double figure lead as the Panthers closed out the win. Anderson added 14 points while Reggie Smith scored 13 all off the bench.

Wiltz had 14 points for SIUE while C.J. Carr led the Cougars with 15 points.


EIU Women Fall to No. 1 Seed UT Martin

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Eastern Illinois competed early but a late first half run by No. 1 seed UT Martin carried the Skyhawks to a 68-35 win over the Panthers on Wednesday afternoon during the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament at Municipal Auditorium.

EIU ends the season at 10-20. UT Martin advances to the semifinal round on Friday after winning their 17th game in a row to improve to 21-9.  

UT Martin jumped out to a 5-0 run with buckets by Tiara Caldwell and Ashia Jones in the low block.  The Skyhawks would finish with a 32-16 points in the paint advantage.  

The Panthers closed the gap and took a 13-10 lead on a lay-up by Bh’rea Griffin with 10:40 to play in the first. Shakita Cox scored five points off the bench in the Panthers 13-5 run.

UT Martin closed the half on a 23-6 run with Jones scoring 11 points to close the half. Jones finished with 30 points going 10-of-16 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the field.  Katie Schubert and Jessy Ward added 3-pointers for the Skyhawks as they led 33-19 at the half.
 
The Skyhawks held EIU with four points to open the second half as they took control of the game. EIU had a 3-pointer by Alece Shumpert in the first minute and a free throw by Phylicia Johnson. EIU’s next field goal would come with 12:07 to play on a Johnson 3-pointer with UTM leading by 30 points at the time.

Johnson led EIU with eight points. Shumpert had six. Sabina Oroszova had eight rebounds and one block as she fell one block short of tying Rachel Galligan for the school record for career blocks.


(3) Duke 94, Wake Forest 51

No. 3 Duke has been carried all season by one of its four freshmen. Just never this one. Grayson Allen scored a season-best 27 points, and Duke routed Wake Forest 94-51 on Wednesday night for its 10th straight win. Matt Jones added 17 points for the Blue Devils (27-3, 14-3), who shot 58 percent and forced 19 turnovers in locking up the No. 2 seed in next week's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Duke had a double-figure lead before the Demon Deacons managed their first basket, scoring the first 12 points and rolling to their 16th straight home victory in the ACC's oldest series. Codi Miller-McIntyre scored 20 points for Wake Forest (13-17, 5-12), which has lost four of five.


(12) Notre Dame 71, Louisville 59

Eight days off gave No. 12 Notre Dame plenty of time to address several areas and recharge, and the only concern was whether the Fighting Irish might be rusty against No. 16 Louisville. The Irish took care of that by erasing a 6-0 deficit with a 10-0 run, setting the tone for a night of strong offensive confidence that paid off big down the stretch in a hostile environment where they've often struggled. Demetrius Jackson scored 21 points and Notre Dame made its final seven shots to pull away for a 71-59 victory over Louisville Wednesday night to clinch third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.


(23) Ohio State 77, Penn State 67

Ohio State's Thad Matta tied a school record for coaching victories Wednesday night and quickly noted that players such as D'Angelo Russell make him a better coach. Russell scored 28 points and No. 23 Ohio State's 77-67 victory over Penn State placed Matta in a tie with Fred Taylor with 297 wins against 91 defeats in 11 seasons with the Buckeyes. A victory Sunday over No. 6 Wisconsin would give Matta (399-122) his 400th career win. That was why he didn't cite any special significance just yet for his coaching numbers.


Wednesday, March 4 Scoreboard

Providence 79, Seton Hall 66

South Florida 74, UCF 45

Tennessee 78, LSU 63

Houston 68, Tulane 63

Miami (Fl.) 67, Pittsburgh 63

Oklahoma State 82, TCZ 70

UCLA 85, USC 74

Vanderbilt 66, Miss. State 56

Oregon 65, Oregon State 62


Thursday, March 5 Schedule (All Times Central)

California at (5) Arizona, 8 p.m.

(6) Wisconsin at Minnesota, 6 p.m.

(13) Utah at Washington St, 10 p.m.

(18) Arkansas at South Carolina, 6 p.m.