Illini Down Iowa, EIU Women, SIUE Men Win

Dosunmu scored a game-high 25 points and went a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. It was his eighth game with 10+ field goals made, the most in an Illinois career in at least the last 25 years. Frazier scored a season-high 24 points, his most since the Illini played at Minnesota Jan 30, 2019.

Kofi Cockburn secured the Illini victory after rebounding his missed free throw with 1.8 seconds remaining on the clock. Cockburn scored nine points and had 10 rebounds on the night.

Jacob Grandison (11 points, 10 rebounds) made his second straight start and scored his first double double as an Illini. Andre Curbelo contributed eight assists, four points and four rebounds.

The game stayed close throughout seeing 22 leads change and eight ties until the Illini pulled away with two minutes remaining.

UP NEXT

Illinois travels to Bloomington to take on Indiana on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Tip-off is at 8 pm CT on ESPN2.

NOTES

Illinois leads the all-time series against Iowa, 87-76. The Illini are 64-17 all-time against Iowa in Champaign. 

Illinois has totaled five top-10 wins during the Brad Underwood era: vs. No. 7 Iowa (1/29/21) and at No. 10 Duke (12/8/20) this season, over No. 5 Michigan (12/11/2019) and at No. 9 Penn State (2/18/20) last season, and against No. 9 Michigan State (2/5/19) two years ago.

The Illini are 28-37 all-time at State Farm Center against top-10 teams. The most recent victory before tonight was last season over No. 5 Michigan (Dec. 11, 2019).

Iowa lost consecutive games for the first time this season. The Hawkeyes lost 81-69 to Indiana 1/21/21.Illinois outrebounded the Hawkeyes 39-33. The +6 rebounding advantage for the Illini is the most in a game against Iowa since Feb. 26, 2012 (+8).

Illinois shot 50% from the field for the eighth time this season, tied for the ninth-most in the nation and the second-most in the Big Ten (Michigan, 9).
Illinois was 14-17 from the free throw line, a season-best 82.4%. The Illini were 12-13 (92.3%) in the second half. 

Ayo Dosunmu led Illinois with 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the first half. Owning numbers of 21.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, Dosunmu is one of only two players nationally averaging at least 20 points, six rebounds and four assists this season (Cameron Shelton, Northern Arizona). This was Dosunmu's eighth career game with 10+ field goals made, the most in an Illinois career in at least the last 25 years.Jacob Grandison had 11 points and 10 rebounds, his first career Illinois double-double and the third double-double of his college career (2 at Holy Cross). 

Trent Frazier scored 24 points, his most points since scoring 30 at Minnesota 1/30/2019 (span of 59 games). 

Andre Curbelo had 8 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds. He is one of five freshmen in the nation with multiple games of 8+ points, 8+ assists, and 4+ rebounds (9 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds vs. Minnesota 12/15/2020). 

Iowa gave up a season-high 19 field goals made in the first half, the Hawkeyes' most allowed in any half this season. It was Iowa's most allowed in a game since Purdue had 24 field goals in the first half on Feb. 5, 2020

Illinois shot 59.4% in the first half, the best by an Iowa opponent in a first half this season and the second-best in a half overall (60.0% vs. Indiana in the second half on Jan. 21). It is the highest first half shooting percentage by an Iowa opponent since Feb. 5, 2020 at Purdue (64.9%).

Illinois held Iowa to a season-low three free throws made, while tying the Hawkeyes' season-low six free throw attempts. 

Head Coach Brad Underwood and his staff wore custom Nikes along with Coaches vs. Cancer branded masks during Friday night's game, joining coaches from across the country who are participating in the annual Suits and Sneakers Week (Jan. 25-31).

Kofi Cockburn grabbed 10 rebounds tonight, his 12th game this season securing double-digit boards. He leads Division I college basketball in double-digit rebounding games.

EIU 51, Southeast Missouri 49 (women)

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- The Eastern Illinois Panthers (8-9, 6-6 OVC) defeated the No. 2 ranked Southeast Missouri Redhawks (9-6, 7-3 OVC), 51-49. The Panthers and Redhawks went blow for blow against each other, as both teams shot poorly from the floor throughout. The Panthers were led by Lariah Washington, who finished with a season-high 24 points, and Kira Arthofer, who finished with a career-high 15 points. The Panthers battled to the end, and despite only holding the lead for 32 seconds, pulled off the upset in Cape Girardeau. The Panthers will return to Charleston, Ill. to face Belmont on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 4:30. 

QUICK STATS

The game was tied ten times this game; the most times this has happened this season.

Lariah Washington scored a season-high 24 points.

Kira Arthofer scored a career-high 15 points.

Taylor Steele tied the 7th spot in career-3-pointers at EIU (Barbora Garbova).

The Panthers defeated SEMO for the first time since 2016-17.

Both the Panthers and the Redhawks shot 31% from the field.

The Panthers finished with seven turnovers, the least amount this season.

The Panthers had the lead for only 32 seconds.

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER

Southeast Missouri's defense locked down the Panthers in the first half of the first quarter. Kira Arthofer had made the lone Panther field goal, while Morgan Litwiller had the only other point in the game coming off a free throw. SEMO All-OVC guard, Tesia Thompson, scored 8 points in the first quarter. Eastern Illinois went on a five-minute scoring drought that was finally snapped by a Washington layup. The Panthers' defense was reinvigorated after the media timeout, as they held the Redhawks to no field-goals-made for five minutes. Arthofer intercepted a pass that led to an easy transition layup to cut into the Redhawks' lead. EIU shot only 24% from the field. SEMO's nine free throw attempts were the difference-maker early on. The Panthers trailed SEMO, 15-9.

 It was an ugly start for both teams in the second quarter. Wahl managed her first point off a free throw to give the Panthers their first point in a little over two minutes. Washington became the first player in double-digits and tied the game up 17-17 with a pair of free throws. EIU again was flustered by the stingy defense of the Redhawks; Eastern Illinois went over five minutes without a field-goal-made for the second time in this early game. Litwiller broke the trend for the Panthers, this time with an easy layup. Washington followed Litwiller's layup with one of her own that cut the lead down to a single point. Southeast Missouri shot 25% from the field; EIU shot 23% from the field. The Redhawks led the Panthers at halftime, 22-21.

Washington continued to carry the scoring load out of the halftime break. Taylor Steele and Wahl both got involved as they both recorded their first made field goals. The Panthers' offense started to warm up against the tight defense of SEMO. Eastern Illinois went on a 6-0 run against the Redhawks. Before the media timeout, the Panthers were able to tie the game 33-33. Out of the break, SEMO regained the lead, but Washington was determined to keep the Panthers in this ball game. Before the final buzzer, Washington drove towards the basket and dumped it off to Arthofer in the corner, who nailed the 3-pointer to put the Redhawks led to 40-38. 

The final quarter started slow for both teams, as it took 4 minutes for a score in the fourth quarter off of a pair of Washington free throws. Arthofer broke into the double-digit scoring column after a tough layup. Arthofer was the only other EIU player to have over 10 points besides Washington. Arthofer's layup tied the game up for the seventh time. Washington made two free throws to give the Panthers their first lead of the game halfway through the fourth quarter. Thompson of the Redhawks scored a pair of free throws to tie the game back up for the eighth time. Litwiller collided with a Redhawk player that pulled her out of the game going into the final moments. After a 3-point miss from Wahl, Arthofer snatched the offensive rebound and passed it out to Jordyn Hughes, who found a wide-open Steele who nailed the tying 3-pointer. A jumper by Arthofer put the Panthers up with a late jumper. The Panthers had Arthofer at the line to clinch the win but was unable to make either of her free throws. Thompson was able to get a good look from the elbow but was unable to get the shot to fall. The Panthers shocked the No. 2 team in the OVC, 51-49. 

Southeast Missouri 75, EIU 44 (men)

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Eastern Illinois had a cold night shooting from the field as the Panthers lost 75-44 on Saturday night at Southeast Missouri. 
EIU shot 26 percent in the game as they fell to 5-13 overall, 2-9 in the OVC.   SEMO won its second straight moving to 6-10 overall, 4-6 in the OVC. 

With the game tied at 8-8, Chris Harris hit a lay-up at the 13:53 mark that sparked an 8-0 run by Southeast Missouri to double up the score.   SEMO then closed the half on an 8-0 run with Harris sinking a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the half.    

Harris scored nine of his 11 points in the first half for SEMO as the Redhawks led 38-20 at the break.   

Josiah Wallace seven points in first half for EIU as he was the only EIU player to finish in double figures with 11 points.  

After falling behind, EIU became reliant on the 3-point shot as nine of the Panthers fourteen field goals in the game came from 3-point range.  Kashawn Charles and Henry Abraham both knocked down a pair of 3’s for EIU. 

SEMO used its size to its advantage as the Redhawks posted a 50-25 advantage in rebounds including 16 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second chance points.  DQ Nicholas led SEMO with eight rebounds adding ten points.  Nana Akenten led SEMO with 13 points. 

SIUE 76, UT Martin 60

MARTIN, Tenn. – SIUE men's basketball never trailed on its way to a 76-60 road thumping of UT Martin Saturday at the Elam Center.

The Cougars improved to 6-6 overall and 4-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

SIUE has won three of its last five, all coming on the road, where the five overall wins have already equaled the program high for road wins in the Division I era.

"It's fun coming on the road and winning three out of five coming out of our 'little vacation' we took," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said.
Shamar Wright's three-point basket at the first-half buzzer gave SIUE its largest lead at the time at 35-24.

"We came out of halftime, and it was an 11-point game and we extended it to 16 by the first media," Barone continued. "UT Martin chipped away but we kept our heads."

SIUE pushed the lead to more than 20 three separate times in the second half. Iziah James served up an alley-oop to Sidney Wilson on a fast break with 4:04 to play to give SIUE its largest lead at 69-47.

It was one of five assists for James, which tied a career high. He added five points and two rebounds. Wilson scored 18 points added four rebounds and three assists. Mike Adewunmi led the Cougars with 20 points. He pitched in seven rebounds and two assists. It is the fifth career 20-point game for Adewunmi and his third this season.

"Sidney Wilson did a good job in the second half and Mike Adewunmi's energy was phenomenal," Barone said. "With Carlos hurting today and Cam going out in the first half Iziah James did a great job stepping up for us. I was proud of his attitude and his effort today."

SIUE connected on 52 percent (26-50) of its shots, marking the sixth time this year it has shot better than 50 percent in a game. The Cougars collected a season-high 20 assists and outrebounded UT Martin 37-36. The Cougars also recorded 10 blocks, one shy of the school record which they equaled earlier this year.

"At the beginning of the day today we talked about relying upon what we do well," Barone said. "Having 20 assists, 10 blocks, that is having your teammates' back. That is falling back on what we do for one another."

Shamar Wright paced the Cougars on the boards, grabbing a career-high nine rebounds. He added seven points, two blocks and a steal.

"He has a demeanor about himself the last 4-5 games," Barone said of Shamar Wright. "You can see it. He is going to the next play. He is focused on doing right."

Lamar Wright finished with six points and four rebounds, while tying his career high with five blocked shots.

Anthony Thomas' 24 points led UT Martin, which dropped to 5-10 overall and 3-8 in the OVC.

The Cougars return to First Community Arena, where they have played only once this season. SIUE plays host to Austin Peay Monday afternoon in the first of four games during the week.

"It is going to test us as people," Barone said. "It is going to test our family. But we get to play basketball four times next week.

The Cougars will play nine games over the first 15 days of the month.

"We're going to have to figure it out," Barone continued. "We'll have to find a way to scout and take some time off. There's going to be ups and downs, but let's go have some fun."