Illinois Fighting Illini vs Penn St. Nittany Lions Match Player Stats On Dec 23, 2020

After falling behind by 15 points in the first five minutes, No. 18 Illinois took advantage of Penn State's lack of size to rally for a 98-81 Big Ten victory Wednesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Ayo Dosunmu attacked the rim repeatedly to score 21 of his game-high 30 points in the second half for Illinois (6-3, 2-1), but the preseason All-American picked up a double technical and was ejected with 27.5 seconds left. Dosunmu got in the face of Penn State's Jamari Wheeler after he knocked Illinois freshman Andre Curbelo to the floor with a foul.

Seven-footer Kofi Cockburn added 23 points on 11 of 13 shooting and Curbelo posted 15 points and eight assists as Illinois shot 55.6 percent from the field and outscored Penn State 58-32 in the paint.

Illinois outrebounded the Nittany Lions 25-11 in the second half to turn a halftime tie into a convincing win. The Illini also owned a 21-10 bulge in second-chance points for the game as John Harrar, Penn State's only big man, played just nine minutes due to foul trouble.

Myreon Jones and Izaiah Brockington paced Penn State (3-3, 0-2) with 21 points apiece while Sam Sessoms added 12 points off the bench.

Penn State needed just five minutes to race out to a 19-4 lead as the Nittany Lions scored on their first nine possessions. Jones poured in 11 of those points as he mixed drives and pull-up jumpers with a 27-foot 3-pointer.

Illinois took a timeout at the 14:57 mark to slow Penn State's momentum, then worked its way back into the game by feeding Cockburn. Curbelo came off the bench and kept driving through Penn State's extended pressure to create easy chances at the rim for Cockburn, who canned four shots in a row.

Illinois took a 38-37 lead, its first advantage of the night, when Trent Frazier drilled a 3-pointer from the corner with 3:38 left to highlight a 9-0 run. Penn State restored a 43-43 knot by the half as Jones drove to the basket with 1:28 left for his first points since his early flurry.

With the score 54-54 and 13:38 remaining, Illinois entered the bonus and made Penn State pay the rest of the way. A pair of Dosunmu free throws triggered an 8-0 run in just 66 seconds and the Nittany Lions never got closer than six again.

Illinois recorded its highest point total in a Big Ten game since knocking off Northwestern 99-57 on March 8, 1995.

--Field Level Media