Illini Fall To Penn State, Area College Roundup

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Leron Black scored a game-high 18 points in Illinois' 74-52 loss to Penn State Sunday at State Farm Center.

Illinois had the lead for more than 15 minutes in the first half, but squandered it late. With the Illini up 36-32 in the final second of the first half, Carr air balled a 3-pointer from the right wing, but Jamari Wheeler grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Garner, who nailed a corner 3 with 3.7 seconds left.

On the ensuing play, Mark Alstork stepped on the baseline while inbounding the ball, giving Penn State possession. Carr scored a layup before the buzzer to take a 37-36 point lead into the break.

Illinois then missed its first nine second-half shots to open the second half and didn't score for seven-plus minutes as Penn State went on a 12-0 run to make it 49-36. The Nittany Lions (18-9, 8-6 Big Ten) led by at least nine points the rest of the way.

The Nittany Lions shot 54.5 percent from the field, outscored Illinois 34-12 in the paint and won their fourth consecutive game against the Illini. Penn State has won six of its last seven overall.

Shep Garner scored 16 points and Tony Carr had 15 points to lead Penn State.

Kipper Nichols added 12 points and Te'Jon Lucas 10 points for Illinois (12-14, 2-11).

The Illini will face Indiana on the Wednesday night. Illinois knocked off the Hoosiers on Jan. 24 for its first Big Ten victory of the season.

Austin Peay 76, EIU 69

Eastern Illinois cut a 15-point Austin Peay lead down to two points with two and half minutes remaining on Saturday afternoon but saw its rally come up short as APSU held on for a 76-69 win in Lantz Arena.

EIU fell to 9-16 overall, 5-9 in the OVC.  APSU improved to 15-11 overall, 10-4 in the league.

Austin Peay used a 12-4 run midway through the first half to jump out to a nine point lead with 8:50 to play in the first as Tre’ Ivory hit a lay-up to make it 22-13.

Steve Harris would give the Governors a double digit lead at the 6:13 mark of the first half and Dayton Gumm’s 3-pointer with 4:15 to play in the first made it 34-19.  Gumm ended the night leading APSU in scoring with 15 points while Harris finished with ten as five Governors scored in double figures.

APSU shot 63 percent in the first half to take a 41-30 halftime lead.  APSU finished the game shooting 52 percent from the floor.  EIU shot 51 percent in the game after heating up to shoot 58 percent in the second half.

The Panthers made their first run early in the second half with Montell Goodwin converting a floater in the lane followed by a Mack Smith 3-pointer that made it 48-44 with 14:55 to play.  Smith finished with 28 points going 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

Gumm responded with a 3-pointer and Ivory hit a jumper to give the Governors a nine point lead with 10:41 to play.  Gumm was 4-of-8 from 3-point range.

The Panthers would finally cut the lead to one possession with 3:37 to play at Smith’s 3-pointer made it 65-63.  Chris Porter-Bunton answered with a jumper to make it a four-point margin.

Goodwin connected on a jumper on the next possession for EIU making it 67-65 with 2:26 to play.   Porter-Bunton had the answer again for Austin Peay sinking a 3-pointer as he had ten points.  Goodwin quickly hit a jumper for EIU to make it a three point game but EIU would not be able to get any closer.   Austin Peay closed the game hitting six of eight from the free throw line.

Goodwin had 17 points for EIU.  Muusa Dama finished with 12 points off the bench for EIU.  Aboubacar Diallo had five blocks as the Panthers had eight blocks in the game.

Terry Taylor had 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds for APSU.  Averyl Ugba finished with 13 points.

Murray State 75, SIUE 66

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE made a run at league-leading Murray State on Saturday afternoon at the Vadalabene Center, but the Racers held on for a 75-66 victory in front of 1,517 fans on Alumni Association Day.

The Cougars fell to 8-17 overall and 4-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Murray State improved to 20-5 overall and stayed atop the league standings at 12-2. The Racers won their seventh consecutive game.

SIUE led 31-28 late in the half before Murray State cut it to 31-30. Then Jonathan Stark of the Racers hit a 3-pointer before the buzzer to give the visitors a 33-31 halftime edge. Murray State went on to outscore SIUE 17-3 the first six minutes of the second half and widen its lead to 50-34.

SIUE led 31-28 late in the half before Murray State cut it to 31-30. Then Jonathan Stark of the Racers hit a 3-pointer before the buzzer to give the visitors a 33-31 halftime edge. Murray State went on to outscore SIUE 17-3 the first six minutes of the second half and widen its lead to 50-34.

"Jonathan is one of the top shooters in the country," Murray State coach Matt McMahon said of Stark, the OVC's leading scorer last year and this season. "And that 3-point basket to end the first half was really big. We came out the halftime break and really played good defense."

Stark scored a game-high 28 points, thanks to making 14 of 16 free throws, including six foul shots in the last 67 seconds.

Austin Peay 75, EIU Women 66

Austin Peay women's basketball outscored the Panthers by 12 points coasting to 75-66 win over EIU Saturday afternoon. The Panthers fall to 2-23 overall, 1-13 OVC while the Governors improve to 14-11 overall, 7-7 OVC.

The teams played even though the first quarter as the Panthers only trailed by two after the first ten minutes. Brianne Alexander scored ten of APSU's 14 points in the first quarter. EIU held her to only eight points in the second half. Alexander finished the game with 18 points and seven boards for APSU.

Halle Stull connected on a three-point shot at the 8:21 mark of the second quarter. APSU responded with a 10-0 run holding the Panthers without a field goal until the 2:13 mark. The Governors headed into halftime with a 43-29 lead over the Panthers.

Nehls and Karle Pace came alive in the second half attempting to chip away at APSU's lead. Nehls scored 12 points and Pace scored all 11 of her points in the final 20 minutes of play.

Nehls finished with a team-leading 15 points on 4-of-8 from the field. She also led the team with eight rebounds, six steals, and four assists. Pace grabbed three boards in addition to her 11 points. Taylor Steele added 12 points hitting two from beyond the arc.

The Governors dominated the boards 43-26. They finished with 17 offensive rebounds and 13 second chance points. Keisha Gergory scored 16 points in the second half for APSU to lead the game with 27 points, while Brianne Alexander added 18 points and seven rebounds. Arielle Gonzalez Varner recorded a game high 10 boards.

The Panthers hit the road for a two game swing next week. First up is Southeast Missouri Wednesday Feb 14 at 6:30 pm.