Illini Suffer Gutsy Loss to Purdue, Area College Roundup

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Fighting Illini lived up to its billing in a gutsy 93-86 loss to No. 9 Purdue Thursday evening at State Farm Center.

Behind junior Leron Black's 28 points on 12-of-25 shooting, the game was close wire-to-wire. Freshman Trent Frazier scored all 20 of his points in the second half.

Carsen Edwards scored career-high 40 points and Dakota Mathias added 18 for Purdue (25-5, 14-3).

There were eight lead changes in the first half, highlighted by two big runs. With just under 10 minutes left Edwards stole the ball and went down for a huge dunk to spark a 17-6 run for the Boilermakers. The Illini responded with a 10-3 run to close out the half trailing 43-38.

Illinois (13-17, 3-14) stayed within striking distance the rest of the game, evening taking a 53-52 lead at one point, but ultimately Purdue's size and Edwards scoring were too much. The sophomore scored 25 of his points in the second half, including a monstrous dunk with just under seven minutes to play.

Purdue shot 58.3 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from beyond the 3-point line. The Boilermakers also outrebounded the Illini 33-20.

For Illinois' Black, it was his fourth straight game scoring at least 20 points. Sophomore Te'Jon Lucas returned to Illinois' starting lineup and scored 12 points with six rebounds and five assists. Freshman Da'Monte Williams added 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from three-point range for the Illini.

The Boilermakers were without their second-leading scorer Vincent Edwards.

Up next, Illinois travels to Piscataway, New Jersey to face Rutgers on Sunday at 2 pm CT.

Team Notes

Illinois scored 86 points, the second-most by a Purdue opponent this season (Michigan had 88).

The Illini bench outscored the Purdue bench, 24-10.

Illinois had just six turnovers on the night, tied for the second-lowest total of the season (5 at Michigan State 2/20).

The Illini had 19 assists, the second-most in Big Ten play (22 vs. Iowa 1/11).

Individual Notes

RS Junior Leron Black matched his career-best point total with 28 against Purdue, hitting 12-of-25 shots, 3-of-7 threes and 1-of-1 free throw.

It marked Black's eight career game over 20 points and the seventh time this season.

It was his fourth-straight game with 20-plus points (20 at Indiana, 2/14; 28 vs. Nebraska, 2/18; 20 vs. Michigan State, 2/20; 28 vs. Purdue, 2/22). Prior to this streak, Black had scored 20+ points four times in his career.
Black had a career-high 12 made field goals.

Freshman Trent Frazier scored 20 points, all in the second half, going 7-for-12 in the frame and also contributed six assists and a career-high five steals.

It was the fifth time Frazier has score at least 20 points this season.

Frazier has scored in double figures in 18 of his last 20 games.

Freshman Da'Monte Williams scored a career-best 11 points, going 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from the three-point arc.

Entering the game, Williams had hit just 6-of-35 from three-point range (.171).

Sophomore Te'Jon Lucas Lucas went 2-for-2 from behind the arc, a new career-high for 3FG, and scored 12 points. He entered the game just 2-for-14 from three-point range this season (.143).
Lucas made his first start since January 3 at Minnesota and had a team-high six rebounds.
RS Junior Michael Finke returned to the court after missing four games due to a concussion. Finke had two points and had one rebound in 15 minutes.

Murray State 76, EIU 66

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Murray State used a 10-2 run late in the first half to take a double digit lead as the Racers would keep Eastern Illinois at an arm’s length the remainder of the night during a 76-66 win on Thursday night at Lantz Arena.

EIU fell to 10-18 overall, 6-11 in the OVC.  The Panthers will honor their four seniors – Montell Goodwin, Ray Crossland, DeVantae’ Price and Muusa Dama – prior to Saturday’s final home game against SIUE at 3:15 pm.  Murray State improved to 23-5 overall, 15-2 in the OVC and following Belmont’s loss, the Racers moved into first place in the OVC.

Both teams came out hot from the floor.  Terrell Miller was the Racers big scorer with 16 first half points which included 3-of-5 from 3-point range.  Goodwin and Mack Smith countered for the Panthers with both players draining a pair of 3-pointers for the Panthers.

The two teams traded the lead early on before Miller gave Murray State the lead for good with a 3-pointer at the 11:41 mark of the first half putting the Racers up 23-20.  A jumper by Smith with 6:55 would cut the Racers lead back to two points.  Another Smith lay-up with 2:58 to play in the first trimmed the Racers lead to 34-31 with 2:58 to play in the first.  Smith would score 17 points in the first half and finish the game with 22 points.

Following Smith’s lay-up, Murray State went on a 10-2 run over the next two minutes to take a double digit lead.  Byron Hawkins dunk with 1:01 left in the half put Murray State up 44-33.  Goodwin hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left in the half to cut Murray State’s halftime lead to 44-36.  Goodwin finished the game with 16 points and a career high nine assists.

Jonathan Stark opened the second half with a jumper that put Murray State back in front by ten points. Stark was one of four Racers in double figures with 15 points.  Murray State would keep the lead between six and ten points most of the second half.  A Stark 3-pointer with 13:25 to play in the game gave Murray State its biggest lead at 16 points, 56-40.

Crossland had 13 points and a team high seven rebounds for EIU.

Miller had a double-double for Murray State finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds.  Shaq Buchanan had 15 points while Ja Morant just missed his second triple-double of the season with 15 points, nine rebounds, nine assists.

 Austin Peay 86, SIUE 82

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Jalen Henry achieved a memorable milestone Thursday on Senior Night at the Vadalabene Center, but it wasn't enough to produce a victory for the SIUE Cougars.

Henry scored 26 points and became the 16th player in SIUE men's basketball history to reach 1,000 points – he now has 1,025 – yet the Cougars fell to Austin Peay 86-82 in front of 1,583 fans.

SIUE dropped to 9-19 overall and 5-12 in the Ohio Valley Conference. However, the Cougars remain in the running for a berth in next week's OVC tournament. If they win Saturday at Eastern Illinois, they will clinch a spot. Austin Peay, sweeping SIUE this season, improved to 17-12 and 12-5.

"I thought our guys played hard and the right way," said SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris. "We had a few too many turnovers, but the difference was that they (Governors) made some plays down the stretch."

Henry, a 6-foot, 8-inch senior from Springfield, Illinois, tried to keep the Cougars humming. He made 8 of 18 shots, including a 3-pointer, converted all nine of his free throw attempts and grabbed seven rebounds. Teammates David McFarland (15 points and six rebounds), Christian Ellis (11 points) and Keenan Simmons (six rebounds) also contributed to the cause. Simmons, a 6-6 senior from Michigan City, Indiana, also played in his final home game.

"My goal was to get to 1,000 points during my college career and I credit my teammates for helping me do that," Henry said. "In high school, I don't think I scored 500 points, so it shows how much I've grown in my career."

Harris sees the Cougars growing in a season marked by many close games. No fewer than 13 SIUE contests have been decided by five or fewer points.

"This team plays with a lot of perseverance, grit and fight and I couldn't be more proud of our guys," Harris said. "I liked our defensive intensity tonight and we outrebounded the best rebounding team in the conference."

SIUE won the battle of the boards 32-25 and made 27 of 56 shots, including 8 of 19 from 3-point range. The Cougars also sank 20 of 23 free throws. Austin Peay, led by Chris Porter-Bunton's 23 points and 19 more from Zach Glotta of O'Fallon, Missouri, hit 29 of 52 shots, with 8 of 17 coming from beyond the arc. The Governors sank 20 of 26 foul shots.

Murray State 70, EIU Women 63

Taylor Steele and Karle Pace recorded double-figures for the Panthers in their 70-63 loss to Murray State Thursday night. Steele recorded a game-high 20 points, while Pace extended her double-figure scoring streak to eight straight games with 15 points.

EIU falls to 2-26 overall, 1-16 in the OVC. Murray State improves to 11-17 overall, 7-10 in the OVC.

The Racers opened the game on a 12-2 run. Grace McRae scored on a layup at the five minute mark to spark a 10-2 Panther run. Carmen Tellez and Steele knocked down three-point attempts to bring EIU within five points to end the quarter.

The Panthers outscored Murray State in the second quarter to take 34-33 lead at halftime. EIU's defense held the OVC scoring leader Ke'Shunan James to just five points in the first half. James finished the game with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

EIU shot 45.1 percent from the field behind Steele's 7-of-11 and Pace's 6-of-11. Steele knocked down five from beyond the arc as the Panthers shot 35.3 percent from three-point range. The Racers finished the game 39.7 percent from the field.

McRae fell shy of a double-double with eight points and seven boards. Jalisha Smith provided a spark from the bench for EIU with five points and six boards.

Four players finished in double-figures for the Racers. Bria Bethea led with 19 points, while James added 15. Jasmine Borders was 4-of-7 from the field with 13 points. Brianna Crane recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds as Murray State won the rebounding battle 34-32.

The Panthers close out the 2017-18 season Saturday Feb. 24 vs. SIUE. This is the Panthers annual CARE game in which 100 percent of the funds raised are donated to local cancer survivors and their immediate needs.