LDN - Sports

Iowa top Illinois in OT to get first Big Ten win

[January 12, 2018] After falling behind by 20 points in the first half, Iowa rallied to earn a 104-97 overtime victory over Illinois in a desperate battle between the Big Ten's last winless teams Thursday night at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

After Illinois freshman point guard Trent Frazier rattled home a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime, Iowa scored the first 10 points of the extra session to gain control.

Sophomore guard Jordan Bohannon paced the Hawkeyes (10-9, 1-5) with 29 points, one shy of his career-high. Sophomore forward Tyler Cook added 21 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the year while freshman center Luke Garza posted 19 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double.

Illinois (10-8, 0-5) received a career-high 27 points from Frazier, who entered the night with 18 3-pointers in 17 games but canned 7 of 11 shots from 3-point range. Junior forward Leron Black posted 18 points before fouling out and junior guard Aaron Jordan added 18 points off the bench.

Illinois' early 13-0 run seemed to set the game's tone. Black and sophomore forward Kipper Nichols scored four points apiece as the Illini surged to a 15-4 lead. Meanwhile, Iowa went scoreless for 5:09 as the Hawkeyes missed eight shots - including a Cook dunk - and committed five turnovers.

Black, Illinois' leading scorer, picked up two early fouls and took a seat with 11:09 left in the first half, but it didn't slow the offense.

When Frazier flushed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:53 to go in the first half, he gave Illinois a 49-29 lead and pushed the host's 3-point percentage to .727 (8-of-11) for the half. The Illini owned a 54-41 lead at the break as they shot 54 percent from the field -- including 9-of-15 on 3-pointers.

[to top of second column]

Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) brings the ball up the court for during the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

Iowa needed just 2:08 to reel off the first 10 points of the second half and force Illinois to call a timeout to pick up the pieces. Junior forward Nicholas Baer (10 points) and Bohannon swished back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 54-51 with 17:52 to go.

Sophomore forward Cordell Pemsl's layup with 12:06 left pulled Iowa even at 66-66 - the game's first tie since 4-4 as the Hawkeyes needed less than 12 minutes to erase Illinois' 20-point lead.

Illinois rode Black for 14 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but he picked up his fourth foul with 9:27 left and took a seat again with Illinois up 74-72.

Black's departure stunted Illinois' offense this time around while Iowa kept attacking. Baer's 3-pointer pulled Iowa into a 79-79 knot with 5:45 left and Garza's layup with 3:02 to go pushed the Hawkeyes to their first lead since 4-2 at 18:32 of the first half.

--Field Level Media

Back to top