Indiana Hands Illinois 78-68 Loss

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Leron Black scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds in Illinois' 78-68 loss at Indiana on Wednesday.

Kipper Nichols added 16 on 4-of-9 shooting and Trent Frazier finished with 12 points for the Fighting Illini (12-15, 2-12).

As has been the case recently, the Hoosiers relied on a stout defense and a strong closing punch to seal this one.

Indiana first took control with a 14-0 run midway through the first half and still led 35-25 at halftime.

Illinois, which was 1 of 12 on 3-pointers in the first half, adjusted in the second half by repeatedly feeding the ball inside. For a while, it worked perfectly.

The Illini methodically trimmed the deficit, getting within 51-49 with 12:26 left. They could have cut the deficit to one if Kipper Nichols could have completed a three-point play.

Instead, he missed and the Hoosiers countered with an 8-2 spurt to rebuild a 59-51 lead and Robert Johnson's 3 with 7:24 to go extended the margin to nine.

Illinois never got closer than six again.

Juwan Morgan was one of three Indiana players to score 14 points Wednesday night and he posted his eighth double-double this season to lead the Hoosiers. Morgan also had 10 rebounds, a career-high five blocks, four steals and three assists for the Hoosiers (15-12, 8-7).

Up next, Illinois hosts Nebraska on Sunday at 2:30 for Senior Day.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

    Redshirt junior forward Leron Black scored a game-high 20 points, a career high for a Big Ten game, and added seven rebounds. His previous Big Ten high was 19 vs. Indiana 1/24/18.
    Redshirt sophomore Kipper Nichols scored 16 points, his fourth-best Big Ten scoring game this season.
    Freshman guard Trent Frazier scored 12 points. He has scored in double figures for the 15th time in the last 17 games and the ninth time in the last 10 games.