Home Sports Basketball Illinois Outlasts Rutgers, College Scores

Illinois Outlasts Rutgers, College Scores

Published on February 4 2015 2:17 am
Last Updated on February 4 2015 2:52 am
Written by Millie Lange

Champaign, IL (SportsNetwork.com) -- Kendrick Nunn tallied 21 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists as the Illinois Fighting Illini outlasted the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 66-54, in Big Ten Conference play at State Farm Center.

Malcolm Hill chipped in with 15 points and five boards for Illinois (15-8, 5-5 Big Ten), which has won three of its last four games. Ahmad Starks collected 13 points, and Leron Black added 12 in the winning effort.

Kadeem Jack paced Rutgers (10-14, 2-9) with 17 points and nine rebounds. Myles Mack added in 16 points, six boards and four assists, but shot just 1-of-8 from 3-point range in the loss, which was the seventh in a row for the Scarlet Knights.

Illinois connected on 53.8 percent of its first-half field goal tries, and took a 35-24 advantage into the intermission. Rutgers hit on 41.7 percent from the floor, and went 1-of-7 from distance.

The Illini dipped to 42.3 percent shooting in the second half, while the Scarlet Knights buried the same number of shots (11-of-26) as Illinois. That wouldn't cut it for Rutgers, which led by as many as three points in the first half.

Illinois held a 15-8 advantage in points off turnovers, and owned a 15-4 edge in bench scoring in the victory.

#4 Wisconsin Blasts #25 Indiana

(Madison, WI) -- Frank Kaminsky netted a game-high 23 points as fourth-ranked Wisconsin cruised past 25th-ranked Indiana 92-78 at the Kohl Center. Nigel Hayes had 16 points and Bronson Koenig scored 15 for the Badgers, who have won five in-a-row to move to 20-2 on the season and 8-1 in Big Ten play. Sam Dekker donated 14 points and six rebounds to the victory. Nick Zeisloft posted 17 points and Robert Johnson added 16 for the Hoosiers, who fell to 16-7 and 6-4. Yogi Ferrell shot just 4-of-15 from the field and had 13 points in the setback.

#1 Kentucky 69, Georgia 58

Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) -- Andrew Harrison scored 23 points and No. 1 Kentucky remained the country's only unbeaten team with a 69-58 win over Georgia on Tuesday. Karl-Anthony Towns added 15 points and 13 rebounds in the win and was the only other Kentucky scorer in double figures. The Wildcats (22-0, 9-0 SEC) extended the program's best start since 1965-66, when the team began the season 23-0. They led by as much as 18 early in the second half but allowed Georgia (14-7, 5-4) to get back into it with a 9-1 scoring burst over a couple of minutes.

EIU Sets Record In Victory

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois set a Lantz Arena record for fewest points allowed in a game as the Panthers beat Baker University (Kansas) on Tuesday night, 59-32, in a non-conference game. The previous record was 40 points set on three occasions, most recently by Morehead State in 2011.

EIU improved to 14-9 overall. The Panthers resume Ohio Valley Conference play on Saturday with a 6 p.m. game at Southeast Missouri. Baker stands at 7-14 on the season.

Daniel Young gave Baker the first lead of the game at 2-0 and his lay-up with 17 minutes to go in the first half tied the game at 4-4. Trae Anderson and LeTrell Viser answered with baskets for EIU and the Panthers never trailed again.

Dylan Chatman’s 3-pointer at 10:23 put EIU up 13-8 and the Wildcats never got closer than five points the remainder of the game. EIU led 29-14 at the half following a jumper by Anthony Johnson with 1:23 to play in the half.

EIU's Grace Lennox Named OVC Freshman of Week

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- Eastern Illinois guard Grace Lennox has been named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Week following her performance in last week’s games against Murray State and SIU Edwardsville.

Lennox scored a career high 17 points hitting 6-of-7 from the floor in the win over Murray State. She added seven assists in that game. On Saturday against SIUE she finished with 13 points as she averaged 15 points per game for the week and six assists per game. Lennox added five steals and two rebounds. For the week Lennox shot 68.8 percent from the field, 80 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the foul line. A native of Hobart, Tasmania; Lennox is averaging 5.7 points per game.

EIU returns to action on Saturday at Southeast Missouri. Tip time is 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, February 3 Scoreboard

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball ("USA Today" Rankings)

#1 Kentucky Wildcats 69, Georgia Bulldogs 58

#4 Wisconsin Badgers 92, #25 Indiana Hoosiers 78

#8 Louisville Cardinals 63, Miami (FL) Hurricanes 55

#21 Oklahoma Sooners 71, #12 West Virginia Mountaineers 52

#15 Northern Iowa Panthers 61, Indiana State Sycamores 51

#22 Butler Bulldogs 85, St. John's Red Storm 62

Wednesday, February 4 Schedule (All Times Central)

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball ("USA Today Rankings)

6:00 p.m. - #5 Duke Blue Devils host Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

6:00 p.m. - #7 Villanova Wildcats host Marquette Golden Eagles