Penn St. Nittany Lions vs Illinois Fighting Illini Match Player Stats On Jan 19, 2021

Kofi Cockburn's 21-point, 12-rebound double-double led three players in double figures Tuesday night as No. 22 Illinois authored a bounce-back effort in a 79-65 Big Ten Conference home win over Penn State in Champaign, Ill.

Trent Frazier and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 13 points for the Fighting Illini (10-5, 6-3), with Dosunmu chipping in a game-high five assists. Illinois was also solid defensively, limiting the Nittany Lions to 33.9 percent shooting from the field and collecting 20 points off 16 turnovers.

Myreon Jones scored 20 points for Penn State (3-6, 0-5) and Seth Lundy added 13, but it wasn't enough to prevent a season sweep at the Illini's hands. The Nittany Lions simply didn't have enough offensive balance, failing to score a point in the paint for the first 12 1/2 minutes.

Illinois led by no fewer than 12 during a foul-filled second half, expanding the advantage to 22 on a couple of occasions. The teams combined for 47 fouls, including four technicals, and 49 foul shots. Three of the technicals occurred during an altercation with 2.7 seconds left in the first half.

The Illini finished the night at 45.6 percent from the field and passed the ball well, collecting 18 assists on 26 made buckets.

Coming off consecutive home losses to Maryland and Ohio State, Illinois was criticized by coach Brad Underwood for lacking focus and a competitive fire at the start of games. That wasn't a problem in this one.

The Illini established a 13-5 lead less than four minutes into the game after Frazier stroked a 3-pointer in transition, forcing Penn State to use a timeout. The Nittany Lions responded with their one good run, evening the score at 17 on Myles Dread's 3-pointer at the 12:55 mark.

The half's remainder belonged to Illinois, which ripped off 10 straight points in a 3 1/2-minute span and never looked back. The Illini led by as many as 18 near the end of the half before settling for a 42-28 advantage.

--Field Level Media