Illini Outlast Penn State, 60-55
By Jeff Mayfield

[March 04, 2022]   Back in my coaching days I struggled playing teams that played the style that Penn State likes to play. They pride themselves on being a possession oriented team and they like to take the air out of the ball.

It is hard to play like that and even harder to coach against it especially if nothing you do supports that style. That was the case last night in the State Farm Center.
The Nittany Lions almost put us all to sleep. Luckily the Illini somehow found a way to stave them off and escape with a 60-55 win that keeps them in the Big Ten race.

Three Stars

#1-Da’Monte Williams-went off for a season-high 14 points that included 4 3-point bombs. He also played some rugged defense and just had a lot of leadership moments. I’m so glad he had such a nice offensive game to put in our memory banks. He’s been a tough, hard-nosed competitor who’s mostly been known for his defense and rebounding.

#2-Trent Frazier-finished the night with 10 points, but had to do everything else-get the offense set, defend the PSU players that were hurting us, and he made a big free throw late to help put the Lions away. He also had 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and I had him for 2 blocks.

#3-Kofi Cockburn-tallied 11 points and 6 rebounds. He also went 3 of 4 from the free throw line.

HM-Jacob Grandison also contributed 8 points before he was injured with a sprained left shoulder.

It was nice to outlast the Nittany Lions on a night the Illini had a dismal shooting game only scoring 60 points while converting merely 36% from the field, got out-rebounded 34-29, and trailed 30-29 at halftime.

The victory takes Illinois’ record to 21-8, and 14-5 in the league which keeps the Illini only one game behind Wisconsin in the standings. A Badger loss and an Illini win over Iowa Sunday night would give Illinois a share of the Big Ten title.

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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