Illinois Holds Off Rutgers, SIUE, EIU Falls

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – Ayo Dosunmu scored 18 points and Kofi Cockburn added 11 and grabbed 17 rebounds and Illinois held off Rutgers 54-51 at home on Saturday.

Dosunmu stepped up big in the final two minutes for Illinois (12-5, 4-2 Big Ten Conference). He scored four points (all at the free-throw line) to seal a defensive battle that saw Rutgers (12-4, 3-2) grab the lead early in the game.

Jacob Young led Rutgers with 16 points. Ron Harper Jr. added nine for the Scarlet Knights.

Illinois went on two 6-0 runs in the second half to close the gap against a fierce Rutgers defense. Both teams played exceedingly well defensively.
Rutgers was 20 of 59 (34%) from the field to Illinois' 18 of 63 (29%).

Cockburn, a 7-foot freshman, hit his seventh double-double of the season for the Illini,

Both teams shot poorly in the first half. Rutgers was 9 of 27 from the field (33%) while Illinois shot a paltry 6 of 31 (19%). Rutgers led 21-18 at the break. Cockburn had five points and 10 rebounds in the first half.

BIG PICTURE

Rutgers played the brand of defense it's known for this season, but couldn't contain Dosunmu down the stretch,
Illinois, on the heels on a huge road win against Wisconsin on Wednesday, stepped up again against a tough conference foe. The Illini slipped into second place in the Big Ten, trailing only No 8 Michigan State, which sits at 13-3 and 5-0 in conference play. The Spartans play Purdue on the road Sunday.

UP NEXT

Illinois has the week off before hosting Northwestern at State Farm Center next Saturday, Jan. 18, at 4 pm CT. Tickets are available for the Illini-Wildcats matchup. 

ILLINOIS GAME NOTES

• Illinois (12-5, 4-2) is in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten, behind only Michigan State (13-3, 5-0).

• Illinois is holding Big Ten opponents to 59.2 points per game, 37.0% shooting (132/357), and 26.2% three-point shooting (33/126) this season. 

• Illinois' 28.6% shooting was its worst in a win since at least 1979-80. It was the worst shooting percentage in a win by a Big Ten team in at least 10 years. It was the fourth-worst shooting percentage in a win by a Division I team in 2019-20.

• Illinois is 10-1 at State Farm Center this season.

• Illinois has equaled last season's win total (12).Last season Illinois was 12-21. This season Illinois is 12-5.

• Illinois is two games over .500 (4-2) in the Big Ten for the first time since Feb. 14, 2015 (7-5). 

• Kofi Cockburn had 11 points and 17 rebounds, breaking his own Illini single-game rebounding record by a freshman. Cockburn's seventh double-double broke Efrem Winter's Illinois freshman record of six set in 1982-83.• Ayo Dosunmu scored 18 points and had seven rebounds, increasing his season averages to 15.5 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game. 

Eastern Kentucky 78, SIUE 72

RICHMOND, Ky. – SIUE men's basketball fell to its third consecutive Ohio Valley Conference defeat Saturday, dropping a 78-72 decision at Eastern Kentucky. The three conference losses have come by an average of six points.

"I am not a 'moral victory' kind of dude," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "The reality is that our guys are fighting. There is no give up on this team and there isn't going to be any give up with me."

SIUE is now 1-3 in OVC play and 4-13 overall. EKU improved to 3-1 in the OVC and 6-12 overall.

The Cougars shot 50 percent (25-50) from the field, outrebounded the Colonels 34-32 and led by two at half, but couldn't sustain the charge.

"Unfortunately we had some huge offensive rebounds we allowed late in the game," Barone said. "We were getting stops and we were executing and then we let in a tip dunk and an and-one."

EKU outrebounded SIUE 22-13 in the second half and connected on 20-24 free throws in the half and 27-35 in the game.

"We went zone a little bit more in the second half," explained Barone. "And Anselm (Uzuegbunem) and Mike (Adewunmi) were out with fouls so we had some smaller lineups."

Playing against an almost-constant press, SIUE turned the ball over 17 times accounting for 16 EKU points. The Cougars were 16-25 (64 percent) at the free throw line for the game.

"I wish everyone could see how hard our guys are fighting and how far they have come and to give them the respect they have earned and they deserve because I believe in these guys so much," Barone added. "That being said, you have to knock down free throws and you have to make the layups. We need to make some shots under duress."

The Cougars collected 14 assists and saw four players score in double figures, led by Tyresse Williford who scored a game-high 20 points and added six rebounds and five assists. Zeke Moore scored 17 points and Cam Williams and Brandon Jackson each scored 10 points.

"What that shows is that you have a bunch of guys who are figuring out how to play together," Barone said.

EKU was led by Jomaru Brown who scored 20 points. Michael Moreno and Lachlan Anderson each scored 14 points and Tre King added 12 for the Colonels, who return to Edwardsville for a game February 8.

SIUE returns to First Community Arena for four straight games beginning Thursday with Tennessee Tech.

"When we go back home, we're going to re-introduce this team to our community because we haven't been there forever and I think they're going to really proud of them," Barone said. "Everyone in the locker room understands there is a bigger picture that we're fighting for every day. But you still have to produce. We have to go get the next one and then figure out the next one after that.

Morehead State 69, EIU 66

MOREHEAD, Ky. – Eastern Illinois hit an untimely cold spell on Saturday afternoon and lost their second straight three point contest as a furious rally came up short, 69-66, at Morehead State.

EIU falls to 7-9 overall, 0-4 in the OVC.  Morehead State improved to 9-7 overall, 3-1 in the OVC.

Eastern Illinois led most of the game taking a 36-31 lead at the half as they closed hitting eight of their final nine shots in the half.  Josiah Wallace had 11 points in the closing run as he finished the game with 17 points.
In the second half it was a cold spell that hurt the Panthers as they went just over six minutes without scoring as Morehead State overcame what had been a nine-point EIU lead.

Malik Riddle gave the Eagles their first lead of the game with 5:20 to play with a steal and lay-up.  That bucket would be in the midst of a 12-0 MSU run that put the Eagles up 67-58 before George Dixon broke EIU’s scoring slump with 50 seconds remaining in the game.

EIU would then close the game to a one score differential with an 8-0 run in the final 36 seconds.  EIU closed to 67-66 with 14 seconds left in the game on a Marvin Johnson lay-up.

Ta’lon Cooper would hit a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining to help Morehead State hang on for the win.

Dixon had 12 points for EIU while Johnson scored 11.

Justin Thomas led the Eagles with 18 points.