Illinois clamps down on Purdue in 63-37 rout

[January 06, 2020]  Sophomore guard Alan Griffin came off the bench to produce his first career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds in 20 minutes for lllinois (10-5, 2-2). Junior guard Trent Frazier and freshman center Kofi Cockburn added 12 points apiece.

Sophomore guard Sasha Stefanovic scored eight points to pace Purdue (9-6, 2-2), which canned a season-low 25 percent of its shots. That included 3 of 17 from 3-point range. The Boilermakers hadn't scored so few points since a 42-33 home loss to Loyola (Chicago) on Jan. 3, 1949.

Purdue's struggles started from the jump as the Illini seized an 11-0 lead by forcing Purdue to miss its first 10 shots and commit two turnovers. Boilermakers junior center Matt Haarms broke the drought by canning a free throw with 13:09 left in the half.

Illinois pushed its margin to 21-7 on the strength of 11 second-chance points in the opening 11 minutes -- highlighted by senior guard Andres Feliz's offensive rebound that he dropped off for Cockburn rushing down the lane for a flying dunk with 11:09 left in the half.

Illinois held a 32-19 lead at the break as Purdue shot 30.8 percent from the field.

Illinois built its biggest lead, 39-23, on sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu's 17-foot pullup jumper in transition with 17 minutes to go, but Purdue promptly reeled off seven points in a row -- capped by sophomore guard Eric Hunter's coast-to-coast layup around the 7-foot Cockburn -- to get within single digits for the first time since the 10:02 mark of the first half.

Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) drives to the basket against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

But after pulling within 39-30 at the 13:57 mark, Purdue missed its next seven field-goal attempts and committed two turnovers as Illinois restored a 48-32 lead on Frazier's 3-pointer with 7:55 to play. The Boilermakers made just two field goals over the final 13:57.

--Field Level Media

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