Purdue Beats Illinois In Double OT, SIUE Drops Loss

Andre Curbelo hadn't been on the court since Nov. 23, but his return on Monday afternoon against Purdue was as special as anticipated. His unique ability to control the offense guided the Illini late in the second half after trailing most of the game and extended the game into double-overtime. But the Purdue trio of Zach Edey, Jaden Ivey and Sasha Stefanovic were too much to handle down the stretch as Illinois fell 96-88 after 50 minutes of play at State Farm

Center. Andre Curbelo hadn't been on the court since Nov. 23, but his return on Monday afternoon against Purdue was as special as anticipated. His unique ability to control the offense guided the Illini late in the second half after trailing most of the game and extended the game into double-overtime. But the Purdue trio of Zach Edey, Jaden Ivey and Sasha Stefanovic were too much to handle down the stretch as Illinois fell 96-88 after 50 minutes of play at State Farm Center. 

Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk's defense was key in the near comeback. With Kofi Cockburn and Omar Payne spending both overtimes and some of the second half on the bench due to foul trouble, Bosmans-Verdonk locked down Edey and Trevion Williams to keep Illinois in the game. Bosmans-Verdonk played a career-high 20 minutes on Monday and recorded four points, four rebounds and two steals. 

While Curbelo scored 20 points, Alfonso Plummer led the way with 24 points, hitting six three-pointers. Plummer made the game-tying shot to force double overtime and was instrumental in the second half comeback. Trent Frazier also had a strong outing with 18 points and a team-high six assists. 

But it was Purdue's offensive weapons that got the job done as Stefanovic led with 22 points on 5-8 shooting from the three-point line. Edey and Ivey added 20 and 19 points, respectively, proving why the Boilermakers have the top offense in the conference. Their size also proved disruptive as they outrebounded the Illini and had 42 points in the paint. 

Purdue put Illinois on its toes from the jump as the Boilermakers jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead. Jacob Grandison scored first for the Illini with a short jumper then Mason Gillis made a layup off an assist from Jaden Ivey.

Trent Frazier made his first three-point attempt of the day after Omar Payne secured an offensive rebound and dished it out. Zach Edey countered with a layup followed by a pair of free throws from Ivey.

But, Andre Curbelo checked into the game for the first time since Nov. 23, and got the offense flowing. Kofi Cockburn dunked for his first points of the game then Da'Monte Williams made a layup on the next trip down.

Illinois' defense held Purdue scoreless for a couple minutes while Luke Goode drilled a three and a Cockburn steal led to a long-awaited fast break layup from Curbelo.

Edey ended the Illini run with back-to-back layups before Cockburn made a hook shot to get within four points. However, Edey continued to control the paint as he was fouled on his first miss of the day, but made both free throws. Frazier quickly struck back with his second trey of the game, then Cockburn was fouled and added two from the line.

The Illini took their first lead of the game off a jumper from Frazier followed by a transition three from Plummer. On a 10-0 run, Illinois forced five straight misses from Purdue's offense. Isaiah Thompson got Purdue back on the board with a three then a flagrant foul on the Illini let the Boilermakers tie it up at 24-24.

Illinois would go the next seven minutes without scoring as the team missed nine straight shots. The Boilermakers scored 17 unanswered points as Edey continued to dominate the floor while Ivey was solid from the free throw line. While Cockburn was fouled and made two free throws at the end of the half, Purdue still led 37-26 going into the break. The Illini shot just 31% from the field while the Boilermaker shot 44% as Edey had 14 first-half points.

Plummer wasted no time out of the break as he grabbed an offensive rebound on the first possession then hit a short jumper. Edey made his seventh shot of the day, but Plummer came back with a three to get the Illini within eight points. But, Illinois lost a key piece early in the half as Cockburn tallied his fourth foul and went to the bench with over 17 minutes to play.

The Illini's three-point shooting came up big as Williams and Grandison each nailed deep balls, but Sasha Stefanovic fired back with his own trey. Purdue's Williams made a couple baskets while Frazier sunk a baseline layup. Both teams made a pair of free throws as the Boilermakers held a 49-41 lead.

Then, Curbelo got to work with Cockburn still on the bench. He made a no-look pass to Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk for a layup, then hit a baseline jumper after a defensive stop. Bosmans-Verdonk and Williams had a strong defensive stand on the next trip and Curbelo made another layup on the ensuing possession.

Illinois' defense matched the offense's intensity and forced six consecutive misses from Purdue while Plummer tied the game at 49-49 with free throws. But Eric Hunter Jr. and Stefanovic each made threes to end the drought and take back the lead. While Curbelo hit a short jumper, Edey returned the game and scored another layup to put Purdue back up 57-51.

It was Purdue's turn for a few defensive stops as it held Illinois scoreless for over three minutes as Stefanovic hit another three. Cockburn and Frazier ended the drought with back-to-back layups, but Edey made a putback to keep Purdue ahead. With under four minutes to play, Plummer made his third trey of the game to pull Illinois within four points.

The Illini defense made a stop which led to a jumper from Curbelo with 30 seconds left in regulation. With the Illini trailing by two points, Curbelo fouled, but

Purdue missed the free throw. With 20 seconds to play, Curbelo took the ball to the corner then drove down the baseline, making the game-tying layup through multiple defenders. Once again, the Illini defense came up big with a stop to force overtime.

Ivey gave Purdue a quick lead in overtime with two pairs of free throws and a layup. While Cockburn fouled out early, Bosmans-Verdonk rose to the occasion making his own free throws to get Illinois within one. Curbelo and Purdue's Williams traded shots as Purdue held onto a one-point lead.

But with just under a minute to play and the ball with Purdue, Bosmans-Verdonk made the biggest defensive play of the game, stealing the ball from Williams. While Curbelo missed a jumper on the other end, Stefanovic was fouled and only made one free throw.

With the game back on the line Curbelo dished it to Plummer down low, who made the tying layup to send the game into double overtime.

Stefanovic quickly took over in the second overtime period, making a three then two free throws. While Frazier made a jumper, Hunter Jr. scored to put Purdue up five. A Plummer three kept the Illini alive, but Williams scored again for Purdue to make it a two possession game. The Illini had a chance to get within two, but missed a pair of free throws which led to a layup from Hunter Jr. With Purdue up 89-83, the Illini were unable to come back within the final minute. 

Illinois will have a few days off before it hits the road out to Maryland for a Friday night game. Then, the Illini will return to State Farm Center to host Michigan State next Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Belmont 80, SIUE 64

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – An efficient night offensively wasn't enough for SIUE Monday, as the Cougars fell to Belmont 80-64 at First Community Arena.

The Cougars had three players score in double figures, connected on 46 percent of their shots and collected 17 assists on 23 made baskets, but were hampered by turnovers.

The Bruins forced 20 turnovers and used them to generate 23 points. The Bruins also outrebounded SIUE 34-28.

"When we had the opportunity to turn the corner a couple times - when we could cut a 12 point to a nine point or a nine point went to a seven-today we weren't able to turn that corner," Barone said. "Our guys were competing, but the turnovers hurt us, and Belmont capitalized and did what they do really well, which is move the ball, get out in transition, and knock down step-in threes. I think ultimately that's what hurt us."

Belmont trailed only briefly early and took a 14-point lead into halftime. SIUE got as close as nine after halftime when Shamar Wright layup with 11:43 to play made it 61-52. Shaun Doss, Jr. made cut the lead to 69-58 with a layup at 6:30, but Belmont forced two turnovers and ran off seven straight points to push its lead to 76-58 with just 5:18 left. A Will Richard dunk with 3:24 to play gave the Bruins their largest lead at 80-60.

DeeJuan Pruitt paced the Cougars with a career-high 14 points, all of which came in the first half. Shaun Doss, Jr. and Shamar Wright each scored 13 points for SIUE.

Grayson Murphy turned in a triple-double for Belmont with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Luke Smith led Belmont with 23 points. He was 9-16 from the field, including 5-12 from three-point range. Richard added 19 points for the Bruins, who connected on 51 percent (30-59) of their shots.

"The un-guardable layups hurt us today," Barone said. "And I thought we didn't have that time when we got a steal and put it up for a quick layout or quick basket. We didn't capitalize on those opportunities, and they did."

"I feel like we were close during the game, but I think we lost it in transition," Doss said. "We gave up a lot of transition buckets and that's really what we were keying in on was stopping them in transition."

The Bruins knocked down eight three in the first half, before hitting just one of seven attempts in the second half.

SIUE returns to the road for three consecutive games away from Edwardsville, beginning with a Thursday game at Tennessee Tech.

"We're doing what we did last year," Barone added. We have four weeks of three games in a row. We're going to be on the road for six, seven days in a row, come back, back on the road. And it's just the nature of the beast right now, and I think we're going to draw upon those experiences to prepare accordingly. This team, right now- we prepare the right way. They buy into that preparation. We can always get better, but that's what we're doing."