Fighting Illini Beat No. 13 Maryland

NEW YORK (AP) — Illinois' players and coaches jogged through a mob of outstretched hands on their way off the Madison Square Garden court, basking in the smiles and shouts of congratulations.

This victory on that stage? Nothing wrong with letting that sink in.

"That was a great character win for our basketball team," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said after the Fighting Illini beat No. 13 Maryland 78-67 on Saturday.

"Yeah, we executed -- we made some shots -- but to me it's a lot more about perseverance and showing up and competing. We did that today and we were fortunate to beat a very good basketball team."

Ayo Dosunmu scored 20 points to help the Fighting Illini (6-14, 2-7 Big Ten) snap a two-game skid by handing the Terrapins their second straight conference loss. Tevian Jones had 18 points, and Andres Feliz had 15.

While Illinois was reveling in its accomplishment, the Terrapins were collectively talking about the need to improve the details of their game.

"It was a matter of us doing the little things," said Bruno Fernando, who led Maryland (16-5, 7-3) with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Cowan Jr. had 18 points and Jalen Smith had 11.

"Things coach keeps emphasizing like boxing out and rebounding," Fernando added. "I think we gave them lot of chances on the boards and second-chance points."

The Terrapins led by 11 during the first half, but Illinois pulled within 34-30 at the break after Dosunmu scored all the Illini's points on a 9-2 run. That was the beginning of the end for Maryland.

"We were cruising a little bit and feeling good about ourselves," coach Mark Turgeon said. "We just weren't very good when we needed to be good, and they were. They were terrific when they needed to be."

Illinois hit four 3-pointers in a span of 1:27 early in the second half -- including two by Trent Frazier -- to take a 42-40 lead. Maryland ran off seven straight points, Illinois countered with six consecutive to regain the lead, then Maryland used a 10-4 run for a 57-52 advantage.

Illinois responded with a 10-2 spurt, capped by Jones' fourth 3 of the game with 4:49 left, and the Illini kept their poise from there. Feliz made five free throws and Dosunmu had a fast-break layup and hit two other layups to extend the lead to 72-63.

"It's huge," said Underwood, when asked about his team's lead management. "It's guys finally stepping up and making plays, making free throws. Guys wanting the ball and then playing with a conscious effort.

"For us to manage that and pull away, especially come from 11 down early means a lot."

In the second half, Illinois made 50 percent of its shots from the field (13 of 26), including 6 of 14 from 3, plus 16 of 17 from the foul line. For the game, Illinois shot 42.4 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from 3 and 90.9 percent from the stripe. "The focus was to drive it in there and kick it out," Dosunmu said. "That's like easy money shots."

UP NEXT: The Illini travel to Minnesota to face the Golden Gophers on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 8 pm CT.

ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES

TEAM NOTES

• Illinois snapped a 15-game skid against Top 25 teams, winning for the first time over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 20 Iowa, 68-66, in the 2016 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis 3/10/2016.

• Illinois had a season-low nine turnovers. The Illini had only one turnover in the first half, its lowest in a half this season (previous low was two in the first half vs. Wisconsin last game).

• Illinois forced 21 Maryland turnovers (15 in the second half), the most by the Terrapins this season. It was Maryland's first time over 20 turnovers since the Illini forced them into 25 turnovers in Champaign last season 12/3/2017.

• Illinois finished on a 22-8 run after trailing 59-56 with 6:53 remaining in the game. Illinois went on a 19-8 run after the game was tied 59-59 with 5:00 remaining.

• Illinois freshmen (Bezhanishvili, Dosunmu, Jones, Griffin) combined for 47 points on 16-of-32 field goal shooting (50 percent) and 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) three-point shooting, while adding six rebounds and nine assists. The freshmen scored 60.3 percent of Illinois points.

• The Illini outscored the Terrapins 37-12 on bench points, led by Jones (18) and Feliz (15). Alan Griffin (3) and Adonis De La Rosa (1) also added points off the bench.

• Illinois' 27 points off turnovers were its second-most this season and most since 32 in the season opener against Evansville.

• The game was part of the fourth annual Big Ten Super Saturday – College Hoops and Hockey doubleheader. The event featured the Illini-Terrapins basketball game followed by a Michigan-Penn State hockey game, both taking place on the same day at Madison Square Garden.

• The game was also is part of Coaches vs. Cancer Suits & Sneakers Week.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Freshman guard Ayo Dosunmu led Illinois with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 shooting from the free-throw line.Dosunmu has been the Illini's leading scorer in seven of the last eight games, averaging 18.5 points (148) with five 20-point outings.

• Freshman guard Tevian Jones had career highs in points (18), field goals made (6-12), three-pointers made (4-9), rebounds (4, tied) and minutes (22). Jones had scored 28 points on the season before scoring 18 against Maryland.

• Junior guard Andres Feliz scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, his highest scoring Big Ten game this season and third-highest scoring game overall (19 vs. UNLV, 16 vs. Evansville, 13 vs. Georgetown). Feliz added a career-high six rebounds, one more than his previous career high (5 vs. Georgetown, 5 vs. ETSU).

• Freshman forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili is averaging 14.0 points (98) and 6.1 rebounds (43) on 56.8 percent shooting (42-74) over the last seven games, scoring at least 15 points four times.

Southeast Missouri 64, EIU 59

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri took the lead in the final 34 seconds on a Ledarrius Brewer dunk as the Redhawks beat Eastern Illinois, 64-59, on Saturday night at the Show Me Center.

EIU fell to 12-9 overall, 5-3 in the OVC.  SEMO improved to 7-14, 2-6 in the OVC.

EIU jumped out to a quick start with the Panthers building a 19-5 lead at the 11:51 mark of the first half as the Panthers connected for 6-of-8 from the floor.  SEMO closed the first half on a 7-0 run to cut EIU’s lead to 33-31 at the half.

SEMO would make several runs at the EIU lead in the second half with the Redhawks taking a lead for the first time at 12:55 on a 3-pointer by Brewer.  EIU would counter with a lay-up by JaQualis Matlock; one of two times in the second half Matlock would help the Panthers regain the lead.  Matlock finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Josiah Wallace helped EIU push back out to a three point lead late in the second half before a 3-pointer by Brewer tied the game with 1:59 to play.

Brewer gave the Redhawks their final lead with 34 seconds left as he finished with 24 points.  EIU was called for an offensive foul on the next possession and SEMO closed out the game at the free throw line.

SEMO was 18-of-24 at the foul line for the game while EIU had only two free throw attempts for the night.

Wallace led EIU with 21 points.  Mack Smith added 12 points. EIU was 5-of-22 from 3-point range in the game but was 0-of-7 in the second half.

Isaiah Gable added 13 points for the Redhawks while Gabe McGlothan pulled down 12 rebounds.  

Southeast Missouri 72, EIU Women 57

CHARLESTON, Ill. --  Eastern Illinois women's basketball falls 72-57 on the road to Southeast Missouri Saturday afternoon in the Show Me Center. The Redhawks made defensive adjustments at halftime to stop the hot three-point shooting Panthers who connected on 6-of-9 from the arc in the first half. EIU made only two more in the second half, but finished shooting 47 percent from three point range.

EIU falls to 8-11 on the season and 2-6 in the OVC. SEMO wins their third straight to improve to 10-9 overall and 5-3 in conference.

The Panthers took an early 9-2 lead in the first quarter as the teams headed into the first media timeout. Grace Lennox, Carmen Tellez, and Taylor Steele combined for three three-pointers, while Abby Wahl tallied three steals for EIU on SEMO's four early turnovers.

The Redhawks would come out of the first quarter media time out and go on an 18-0 run holding the Panthers scoreless until the mid-way mark of the second quarter. Jalisha Smith scored at the 5:27 mark on a layup to spark EIU's offense. The Panthers trailed the Redhawks 34-26 heading into the break.

EIU went on an 11-2 run early in the third quarter to tie the game 38-38 on a free thrown from Taylor Steele at the 6:08 mark. The Panthers put up 18 points in the third quarter to narrow the Redhawks lead to five points into the final 10 minutes.

The Redhawks would hold the Panthers without a field goal in the first three and a half minutes of the fourth quarter with their only points coming from the charity stripe. Steele would connect on a layup at the 6:17 mark for EIU's first field goal of the quarter. SEMO held on to their lead not allowing EIU to get closer than the five points they trailed to start the fourth.

Steele finished with a team-high 14 points for EIU. Lennox added 12 points on 4-of-8 from the field. She also tallied three assists and two steals. Karle Pace also recorded double-figures with 10 points, while Smith fell short of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Tesia Thompson led all-scorers with 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Jocelyn Taylor added 15 points, while Carrie Shepard and Adrianna Murphy scored 11 and 10 points respectively. Losmie Lutaya finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Panthers return home on Thursday Jan. 31 for a 5:15 pm tip-off vs. Eastern Kentucky.

UT Martin 85, SIUE 69

MARTIN, Tenn. – It was a tale of two halves for SIUE men's basketball Saturday, and a strong first half wasn't enough to carry the Cougars to victory. UT Martin defeated SIUE 85-69 at the Elam Center.

The Cougars slipped to 6-14 overall and 2-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference. UT Martin improved to 6-13 and 1-7 in OVC play.

After going down 14-8 early in the first half, SIUE used a 12-0 run to pull ahead and never trailed again in the half. The Skyhawks trimmed the Cougars' lead to 28-26 before SIUE scored seven straight, capped off by a Treavon Martin layup, for its largest lead of the game at nine points.

SIUE led 40-35 at halftime. The Cougars connected on 55.6 percent (15-27) of their first-half field goal attempts and were 5-10 from three-point range.

After the half, a renewed UT Martin team scored the first four points to cut the lead to one and force SIUE into a timeout.

Delfincko Bogan buried a three-pointer from the right side with 17:38 to play which gave UT Martin a 44-42 lead. The Skyhawks never trailed again in the game.

UTM was 19-29 (65.5 percent) from the field in the second period including going 6 for 10 from beyond the three-point arc.

"They made a run," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "We didn't start the half with the right mindset defensively. This is a team that can put you to sleep with how they play. They are slow, methodical on offense and their zone can get you off balance."

The Cougars knocked down just 39.3 percent (11-28) of their shots and were just 3 for 12 from three-point range.

"It's about our defense," Harris said. "We didn't make some shots in the second half, but we still shot 40 percent. That's not too far out of the ordinary. The reality is we quit guarding."

UTM's Quintin Dove scored 25 to lead all scorers. Derek Hawthorne, Jr. scored 20. Fatodd Lewis scored 10 points and led the way with eight rebounds for the Skyhawks.

David McFarland paced SIUE with 19 points. Cameron Williams was 4-6 from three-point range for 12 points. Brandon Jackson scored 11 points. Martin scored a career-high 11 points and led SIUE with a career-best eight rebounds.

UT Martin outrebounded SIUE 34-27.

"We settled for some shots, we took some that we shouldn't have," Harris added. "They had four more offensive boards and got 14 second chance points."

The Cougars return home for a pair of games at Vadalabene Center. SIUE will play host to Morehead State Thursday and Eastern Kentucky Saturday.

"We have two very challenging teams next week," Harris said. "We just have to get back to work. All we can do is keep pushing."