No. 9 Purdue holds off Illinois on the road

[February 23, 2018]  Sophomore guard Carsen Edwards poured in a career-high 40 points as No. 9 Purdue held off Illinois for a 93-86 victory on Thursday night at State Farm Center.

Edwards became the first Purdue player to reach the 40-point mark since Glenn Robinson scorched Kansas for 44 points on March 24, 1994, in the NCAA Tournament. Edwards canned 11 of 19 shots from the field and 14 of 16 at the line.

Senior guard Dakota Mathias scored 13 of his 18 points during the first half as Purdue (25-5, 14-3 Big Ten) remained in the hunt for a share of the conference title. The Boilermakers, who played without senior forward Vincent Edwards for the second game because of an ankle injury, must win their home finale Sunday against Minnesota while Michigan State must lose Sunday at Wisconsin.

Junior forward Leron Black paced Illinois (13-17, 3-14) with a career-high-tying 28 points while point guard Trent Frazier, the Big Ten's top-scoring freshman, produced all 20 of his points after halftime. Sophomore point guard Te'Jon Lucas added 12 points and five assists in his first start since Jan. 3 and freshman guard Da'Monte Williams contributed a career-high 11 points.

Purdue outscored Illinois 26-8 at the free-throw line and owned a 33-20 advantage on the boards.

Illinois rolled out to an 18-13 lead, but Purdue flushed eight shots in a row to grab a 34-26 advantage. Edwards triggered the spree with three baskets -- including a steal that he turned into a left-handed jam -- before Mathias took over with three 3-pointers and a layup.

The Boilermakers pushed their advantage to 40-28 before Illinois reeled off a 10-3 run to close the half. The Illini ran off the floor giddy with the belief they had chopped the halftime margin to 43-41, but the officials reviewed the replay and ruled that freshman guard Mark Smith's buzzer-beating 3-pointer was released a split second after time expired.

 

Purdue Boilermakers guard Nojel Eastern (20) shoots against Illinois Fighting Illini forward Greg Eboigbodin (11) during the second half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

Illinois maintained its pressure defense in the second half and took a 53-52 lead with 15 minutes left as Frazier turned back-to-back steals into a fast-break layup and a transition 3-pointer.

Edwards and Frazier took turns answering each other as Purdue regained the lead and kept trying to pull away. Edwards broke his previous career-high of 28 when he hit a 15-foot pullup with 7:35 to go, then he drove in traffic for another left-handed dunk on the next possession.

--Field Level Media

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