Illinois Makes It Four Straight With Win Over Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -  Trent Frazier had 15 points and Ayo Dosunmu buried a key 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining as Illinois held off Ohio State 63-56 Thursday for its fourth win in a row.

Dosunmu also scored 15 points and Giorgi Bezhanishvili added 13 for the Illini (10-15, 6-8 Big Ten), who won their first true road game of the season.

The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Buckeyes (16-8, 6-7), who committed 18 turnovers leading to 14 Illini points.

Dosunmu made two free throws to give Illinois the lead for good with 8:15 to play and his 3-pointer three minutes later made it 51-46. Luther Muhammad hit two foul shots to pull the Buckeyes within three with 57 seconds left but Dosunmu, who scored nine points in the final eight-plus minutes, answered with a 3.

C.J. Jackson led Ohio State with 17 points, but he also had seven turnovers. Brothers Kaleb and Andre Wesson contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, as Ohio State shot just 36 percent.

Bezhanishvili had just two points in the first half but scored Illinois' first seven points of the second. Illinois shot 44 percent from the field.

Keyshawn Woods, who scored 18 points in Ohio State's Dec. 5 win against Illinois, was held to just three points.

Illinois' speed resulted in 11 fast-break points and proved the difference.

ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES

TEAM NOTES

• Illinois has now won four straight games and five of their last six. Since starting the season 4-12, 0-5, the Illini have gone 6-3 over their last nine games.

• The four-game winning streak is currently the longest active streak in the Big Ten, ahead of Iowa (3 games).

• The win was the first for the Illini at Ohio State since Feb. 22, 2009, snapping an eight game losing streak at Value City Arena. Illinois is now 3-14 all time at Value City Arena.

• Illinois and Ohio State split the season series, with the Buckeyes winning 77-67 at the United Center on Dec. 5. The Illini lead the all-time series 106-78, while the Buckeyes lead 48-42 in Columbus.

• The Fighting Illini got their first true road win of the season, improving to 1-6 in road games. The Illini also beat Maryland on a neutral site, at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 26.

• Illinois moved into a tie for eighth place in the Big Ten with a 6-8 mark. The Illini are tied with Minnesota (6-8) and are half game behind Ohio State (6-7) for seventh place.

• The Illini led for 30:07 of the game and trailed for just 4:16. Illinois led a halftime (30-27) for the 14th time this season, improving to 8-6 in those games.

• As a team, Illinois tied a season high with six blocked shots. The squad also swatted six shots against UNLV on 12/8/18.

• The Illini, who lead the Big Ten in tempo, outscored the Buckeyes 11-3 in transition.

• Up Next: The Illini return to action on Monday with a trip to Wisconsin to face the Badgers (7 pm CT on BTN).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• As they have all year, the trio of Trent Frazier (15 points), Ayo Dosunmu (15 points) and Giorgi Bezhanishvili (13 points) led the Fighting Illini attack. Dosunmu has now led the team in scoring 11 times this season, while Frazier has eight times.

• Freshman Ayo Dosunmu, the reigning Big Ten freshman of the Week, hit the biggest shot of the game, a dagger three-pointer with 29 seconds left to give the Illini a 62-56 lead. He also added four rebounds and three assists.

• Freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili, fresh off a 35-point game and Big Ten player of the Week honors, blocked a career high four shots against the Buckeyes. His previous high was two (2x). He hit 6-of-9 from the field,  pulled down a team high seven rebounds and had two steals to go along with his 13 points, his 14th double-digit scoring game of the season. He has hit 20-of-27 shots in the last two games (.741).

• Sophomore Trent Frazier continued his hot shooting, hitting 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-5 from downtown for his 15 points. Over the last five games, Frazier has hit 19-of-36 from three-point range (.528).

• Junior Andres Feliz continued his solid play with nine points and six rebounds, tying a career high on the boards. He's averaging 10.3 points per game over the last six games.

• Freshman Alan Griffin played a career high 16 minutes, contributing two points, four rebounds and two steals, while playing tough defense against the Buckeyes.

EIU 79, SIUE 65

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Eastern Illinois used a barrage of first half 3-pointers on Thursday night as the Panthers beat SIUE, 79-65, at the Vadalabene Center.

EIU improved to 14-12 overall, 7-6 in the OVC.  SIUE fell to 8-17 overall, 4-9 in the OVC.

SIUE opened the game with a 7-3 run.  EIU answered with a 17-0 run and the Panthers never looked back in the contest.  Josiah Wallace and Ben Harvey both knocked down 3-pointers during the run as EIU made 11 shots from behind the arc in the first half.

EIU held a 40-26 lead as Mack Smith and Wallace both had 12 first half points for the Panthers.

In the second half EIU cooled off 3-point range taking only six 3-point attempts and knocking one down when Rade Kukobat converted midway through the second half.

EIU would push its lead to as many as 21 points with 15:38 remaining on a bucket by Harvey that put EIU up 50-29.  Harvey would finish with 15 points, one of three Panthers in double figures.

SIUE would make an 8-0 run that trimmed into the big Panthers lead cutting the margin to 54-42.  The Cougars would cut the Panthers lead to 12 points three times and Daniel Kinchen’s free throws with 1:15 to play brought SIUE as close as it would get in the second half, trailing 74-63.

EIU was able to close out the game converting at the foul line.

Smith led EIU with 18 points.  Wallace added 16.  JaQualis Matlock had a team high 11 rebounds.

Brandon Jackson led SIUE with 16 points, all in the first half.  Jackson pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double.  Jaylen McCoy had 12 points while Kinchen added 11.

SIUE 78, EIU Women 62

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Abby Wahl scored a career-high 16 points as SIUE beat Eastern Illinois women's basketball 78-62 Thursday night at the Vadalabene Center. Wahl finished 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line recording four rebounds and one steal.

EIU falls to 10-14 overall and 4-9 in the OVC. SIUE improves to 11-13 overall and 6-7 in the OVC.

Turnovers and second chance points led the Cougars to a 38-25 lead at halftime over the Panthers. The rebounds were tied 18-18 at the break with the Cougars having two more offensive boards than the Panthers. SIUE scored 10 points on second chances, while EIU only managed five second chance points in the first half.

The Panthers struggled taking care of the ball leading to 13 first half turnovers. The Cougars were able to capitalize EIU's turnovers leading to another 14 points. Mikia Keith tallied five steals for SIUE before halftime.

EIU outscored SIUE 20-17 in the third to narrow the Cougars lead to ten points. SIUE opened the fourth quarter on 7-0 run broken up by a layup by Abby Wahl. The Panthers would go on an 8-0 run with just under two minutes left to play led by Jordyn Hughes with five straight points. EIU got SIUE's lead down to 12 points on a three-point play from pace but the Cougars pulled away for the win. Hughes would finish the game 3-of-3 from the field with two three-pointers and 8 points.

Taylor Steele added 12 points and three assists for the Panthers. Grace Lennox moved up to ninth on the all-time career steals list with 180 surpassing Toni Collins with three steals. Lennox finished with five boards and six assists.

Sydney Bauman completed a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Cougars. Micah Jones added nine points and seven rebounds before an injury in the final second in the first half.

The Panthers return home on Saturday Feb. 16 for a 1 pm tip-off vs. Southeast Missouri.

Southern Indiana 100, McKendree 65

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball held off McKendree University, 100-65, Thursday evening at the Physical Activities Center. The Screaming Eagles rise to 17-6 overall and 9-4 in the GLVC, while the Bearcats go to 9-14, 5-9 GLVC.
 
The Eagles hit for the first five points of the game and battled to a 42-34 halftime advantage. USI extended its advantage to a first-half best 12 points, 36-24, with 4:26 left in the opening half after senior guard/forward Nate Hansen(Evansville, Indiana) capped off a 16-6 run with a lay-up.
 
USI was a blistering six-of-eight during the run that had Hansen (5) and senior guard Alex Stein(Evansville, Indiana) (7) combined for 12 of the 16 points.
 
At the intermission, Stein and sophomore forward Emmanuel Little (Indianapolis, Indiana) had 10 points each to led the way. Little was five-of-eight form the field, while Stein was four-of-seven with a pair of free throws during the first 20 minutes.
 
In the second half, USI continued to add to its halftime margin by outscoring McKendree, 38-29, in building its largest lead of the game, 80-63, with 6:04 left. The Eagles were blistering from the field while building the 17-point lead, hitting 15-of-23 shot overall and four-of-seven from long range.
 
The Bearcats, however, were not done and made a run at the Eagles in the final minutes. McKendree used a 28-14 surge to get back to within three points, 94-91 with 56 second remaining on the clock. The Eagles responded with junior guard/forward Kobe Caldwell (Bowling Green, Kentucky), Stein, and Little combining for six-straight free throws in the final seconds to close out the 100-95 victory.
 
The 100-point game was the second of the year for the Eagles (USI scored 110 points versus Lake Superior State University in November). USI also shot 57.4 percent for the game (35-61) and won the battle on the boards, 35-28.
 
Individually, Stein led five Eagles in double-digits with 26 points. The 26 points pulls the senior guard to within 41 points of becoming the third USI player to reach 2,000 in his career.
 
Caldwell followed in the scoring column with 21 points, marking his fifth game over 20 points this season. Sophomore guard Mateo Rivera (Indianapolis, Indiana) was third on the team tonight with a season-high 15 points, while Little dropped in 14 points. Hansen rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points in the victory.
 
USI reaches the halfway point of the four-game homestand Saturday at 3:15 p.m. when it hosts the University of Illinois Springfield for Homecoming. Illinois Springfield is 13-11 overall and 6-8 in the GLVC after falling 73-65 at Bellarmine University tonight in Louisville, Kentucky.
 
USI has the series advantage versus Illinois Springfield, 10-4 overall and 7-3 in the GLVC, since the beginning of the match-ups in 2002-03 and the Prairie Stars entrance into the GLVC in 2009-10. The Eagles, who hold a 7-1 advantage in the series at the PAC, lost to the Stars last year in Springfield, Illinois, 79-70, despite the double-double, 23 points and 10 rebounds, by Little.

McKendree was led by five players in double figures. Nate Michael tallied 27 followe dby Logan Kohrmann with 25, Alijah Thomas with 15, Nola Gerling wih 10 and Effingham High School graduate Jacob Donaldson with 12. Donaldson hit four of 11 from the field and was four of eight from three-point range.