|
 Malcolm Hill contributed 18 points, six rebounds and four assists
for Illinois (13-7, 3-4 Big Ten), which improved to 3-2 since losing
leading scorer Rayvonte Rice for approximately six weeks with a hand
injury. Kendrick Nunn added 14 points and seven boards while Nnanna
Egwu tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and a career-high tying five
blocks for the Illini.
Jon Octeus and Rapheal Davis scored 14 points apiece for Purdue
(11-8, 3-3), which has dropped 10 of its last 11 conference road
games. Vince Edwards chipped in with 11 points, but the Boilermakers
could not overcome a 5-of-21 effort beyond the arc or 17-point
disadvantage (21-4) at the foul line.
Purdue led by as many as nine with 5½ minutes left in the opening
stanza before Nunn, Hill and Black combined to score all the points
for the Illini during a half-ending 15-4 surge to take a 32-30 lead
into the break. Neither team could build more than a four-point edge
over the first 15-plus minutes of the second half and the lead
switched hands seven times until five points from Hill ignited an
8-0 run to force a timeout by the Boilermakers with 3:58 remaining.
[to top of second column] |
Davis halted the run with a 3-pointer and Edwards added another
triple with 1:16 left to answer four free throws from Illinois, but
Black hit a critical jumper from the right baseline as the shot
clock was winding down to increase the Illini advantage to 62-55
with 43 seconds to go. Egwu added a breakaway dunk moments later and
Jaylon Tate sank a pair of free throws with less than 10 seconds to
preserve the victory. GAME NOTEBOOK: Purdue had won four of its previous five in
Illinois. ... Egwu recorded all five of his team's blocks to give
him 179 for his career, surpassing Deon Thomas (177; 1991-94) for
the most in school history. ... The Boilermakers have yet to hold a
halftime lead in Big Ten play.
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