Sportsnaut
Terrence Shannon Jr. made six consecutive free throws in the final 65 seconds to break the game’s final tie and lift No. 10 Illinois to a 70-62 Big Ten victory over Indiana Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Ill.
Marcus Domask paced Illinois (15-5, 6-3) with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Shannon added 12 points and Coleman Hawkins and Luke Goode contributed 11 points apiece.
Malik Reneau scored 21 points before fouling out with 3:02 to go for Indiana (12-8, 4-5), which failed to hit a 3-pointer for the first time since Feb. 25, 2010. Xavier Johnson added 14 points while McDonald’s All-American Mackenzie Mgbako posted his collegiate first double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) as the Hoosiers played without 7-footer Kel’el Ware for the second straight game due to an ankle injury.
Johnson made three layups to stake Indiana to a 13-6 lead — while Illinois shot 3 of 13 from the floor and committed three turnovers in the first eight minutes.
Illinois didn’t take its first lead until Ty Rodgers darted past Reneau on the baseline for a three-point play that made it 29-28 with 2:51 left in the first half. The Illini extended that lead to 38-30 on 3-pointers by Goode and Justin Harmon, but Indiana cut the margin to 38-34 at the half when Johnson put back his own miss at the buzzer.
Johnson then tossed the ball at Hawkins and hit him in the neck, which led to a Johnson technical foul when the officials reviewed the play during halftime. Domask sank two free throws before the second half began to go up 40-34, but that didn’t deter the Hoosiers.
Indiana reeled off 13 points in a row — triggered by a pair of Mgbako free throws and capped by a Reneau postup — to give the Hoosiers a 49-42 lead with 12:43 left that forced an Illinois timeout.
Illinois’ scoreless streak ended when freshman Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn drilled a 3-pointer to trigger a 9-0 run for the hosts. Hawkins flew in for a putback that gave the Illini a 51-49 lead with 8:57 left.
Reneau halted Indiana’s scoreless streak with a free throw on its next possession, but the Hoosiers didn’t catch up again until Mgbako cashed a 17-footer to make it 62-62 with 1:30 to go.
–Field Level Media
