Illinois Knocks Off Nebraska, 72-66

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Published on February 19 2018 7:50 am
Last Updated on February 19 2018 7:50 am

CHAMPAIGN -- Behind a sell out crowd at State Farm Center and a career-high 28 point performance from Leron Black, Illinois knocked off Nebraska, 72-66 on Sunday afternoon.

Black scored 17 points in the first half on 7-of-8 shooting and 3-for-3 from three-point range. He also snagged seven boards for the game.

There were six ties and nine lead changes during the game, but the deciding basket came from Black. He nailed a fadeaway jumper with two minutes left that put the Illini ahead by three and brought the State Farm Center crowd of 15,544 to its feet.

On the Illini's final two possessions Trent Frazier and Mark Smith knocked down four free throws to secure the win.

Illinois (13-15, 3-12 Big Ten) shot 62 percent from the field and knocked down 7 of 9 from behind the arc to outscore Nebraska 43-36 in the first half. But after the break, the Cornhuskers used a 16-4 run to climb back in it for a five-point lead.

The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, but Black proved to be too much. He knocked down 3-of-5 from behind the arc in his second consecutive 20-point performance.

Frazier and and Nichols were the only other Illini to score in double figures, finishing with 12 points apiece.

Isaac Copeland led the way for Nebraska (20-9, 11-5) with 17 points.

Illinois will hit the road and face Michigan State on Tuesday at 6 pm CT. The No. 2 Spartans have a 10-game winning streak.

GAME NOTES

• With the win, Illinois earned a season split against Nebraska (lost 64-63 in Lincoln on 1/15/18) and improves to 14-7 all time against the Huskers and 10-2 vs. Nebraska in Champaign.

• The Fighting Illini snapped the Huskers' six-game winning streak. Nebraska had won 8 of its last 9 starting with their buzzer-beating win over Illinois on Jan. 15.  

• RS Junior Leron Black poured in a career-high 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He hit 11-of-18 from the field and hit 3-of-5 from behind the arc. His previous career high was 23 points, earlier this season against UT-Martin (11/12/17) and his previous high in a Big Ten game was 20 points at Indiana on Wednesday (2/14/18).

• It was Black's sixth career game scoring 20+ points and the fifth time he's done it this season.

• Black has scored in double-figures a team-high 23 times this season and 43 times over his career.

• Freshman Trent Frazier scored 12 points, marking the 10th time in the last 11 games and the 15th time in the last 17 games he scored in double-figures.

• Prior to the game, Illinois seniors Mark Alstork and Clayton Jones, along with three student managers, were honored in an on-court Senior Day ceremony.

• Today's attendance was 15,544, a sell out at State Farm Center. It was the first sell out of the season.


Southeast Mirrousi 79, SIUE 74

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Trailing by 12 points with 2:22 to play Saturday, SIUE pulled to within three points with just 1:01 left. Ultimately it was too little too late, and Southeast Missouri held on for a 79-74 win at the Show Me Center.

The Cougars fell to 5-11 in Ohio Valley Conference play and 9-18 overall. Southeast Missouri improved to 14-15 overall and 8-8 in OVC play.

SIUE remains in the eighth and final spot for the OVC Tournament with two games to play in the regular season.

"We traded baskets," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "SEMO is one of the better offensive teams in our league. You can't trade baskets with a team like that. Our defense was not consistent enough to get over the hump."

The Cougars led early in the first half by as many as five points but the Redhawks took the lead for good at 12-10 with 12:42 to play before halftime and led by seven at the break.

"They made some plays," Harris said. "In the first half our defense wasn't steady enough."

SIUE pulled to within five two different times, but never got any closer until the final minute of the game. The Redhawks sank six consecutive free throws in the final 21 seconds to ice the game.

Five different Cougars scored in double figures, for the first time since December 2016.

Christian Ellis led the way with 19 points to tie his career high. He was 8-11 at the free throw line. Keenan Simmons scored 12 points and was within a rebound of a double-double with nine boards. Jalen Henry, David McFarland and Justin Benton each scored 11 points. Henry's 11 points left him at 999 for his career.

"We did some nice things on the offensive end, but it never comes down to offense," Harris said. "Especially on the road. Giving up close to 80 points on the road is tough."

Southeast Missouri was led by Ledarrius Brewer's 25 points. Justin Carpenter and Daniel Simmons each scored 11 points. Simmons added 10 rebounds for the double-double.

The Redhawks outreboundes SIUE 36-33 while also scoring 28 points (28-35) at the free throw line compared to the Cougars' 17 free throws. Harris cited both as factors.

"They got us on the glass. If we get four more rebounds it's probably a different score," he said. "They outscored us by 11 points on free throws. You get out rebounded and get outscored on free throws it's hard to win the game."

SIUE plays its final home game Thursday against Austin Peay. The Governors won the first meeting of the year in late December in Clarksville, Tennessee.

"I think we're playing better basketball now, but we have to have our minds right," Harris said.


UTM 85, EIU Women 57

The UT Martin Skyhawks opened the second quarter on a 17-0 run holding Eastern Illinois women's basketball scoreless from the 3:12 mark in the first quarter to the 7:03 mark in the second quarter. UTM defeated the Panthers 85-57 in the their final road game of the 2017-18 season.

EIU falls to 2-25 overall, 1-15 OVC while the Skyhawks improve to  16-12 overall, 12-4 OVC.

Taylor Steele recorded her 14th double-figure performance and was the Panthers leading scorer with 14 points. She was 4-of-8 from the arc and grabbed six boards. Karle Pace also recorded double-figures. This was her seventh straight game with 10+ points for EIU. She recorded 13 points and finished with six assists. Grace McRae added 10 points and fell short of a double-double with seven boards.

Danielle Berry was one rebound shy of tying her career-high. She led the Panthers with nine boards six of which were offensive. Despite Berry's efforts, EIU lost the rebounding battle 49-38.

Five players scored double-figures for UTM. Emanye Robertson led the game with 17 points while Myah Taylor added 14 points from the bench. Kendall Spray, Chelsey Perry, and Maddie Waldrop each added 11 points. Waldrop finished with a double-double off the bench. In addition to her 11 points, she grabbed a game-leading 12 boards. The Skyhawks bench combined for 37 of UTM's 85 points.

The Panthers will return home next week for their final two games of the regular season. First up, EIU hosts Murray State Thursday Wed. 22 at 5:15 pm.