Illini Edge Indiana, EIU Beats SIUE

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Ayo Dosunmu is becoming legendary at Illinois for his hustle, talent and an intangible yet reliable ability to take over a game and win it in the final seconds.

On Sunday, the sophomore guard (and possibly NBA hopeful either this year or next) added another chapter, scoring a game-high 17 points, including a key 3-pointer down the stretch, to lead Illinois over Indiana 67-66.

"He's amazing," said Illinois coach Brad Underwood. "I'm blessed to have guys like Ayo and Kofi (Cockburn). Ayo did that in high school. He's confident and a winner, period."

Dosunmu hit the 3-pointer with 1:28 left to put Illinois (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten) up 65-60. Rob Phinisee then hit a 3-pointer with 1:14 left to pull Indiana (18-11, 8-10) to within two points.

Following a missed Illinois free throw by Da'Monte Williams, Andres Feliz ripped the ball away from Phinisee and called a timeout for Illinois with 13 seconds left.

Dosunmu was fouled intentionally and hit both free throws to make the score 67-63. Phinisee hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Hoosiers to make the final score 67-66.

"I'm pretty confident and I put the work in," Dosunmu said. "So when the time comes, I can take the right shot."

Feliz scored 15 for Illinois and Kofi Cockburn added 15 points and six blocked shots.
Aljami Durham led Indiana with 13 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 12 points and 12 rebounds, Devonte Green added 11 points and Phinisee 10.

It was a physical and close game from the opening tip. Indiana's largest lead was five points, while Illinois' was seven The Illini needed runs of 7-0 and 9-0 in the second half to pull ahead.

The score was tied 36-36 at the half.

"That was a good win for Illinois," said Indiana coach Archie Miller. "I have to give our guys credit, too, for playing hard and giving us a chance to win it at the end."

Underwood saw much he liked going into the final week of the regular season.

"That was a great Big Ten basketball game," he said. "It's March now. You get beat, you go home. This right here is why you work and sweat so much back in July. To get to this point makes it all worthwhile."

The Illini needed the win to pull into a tie for second place with Michigan State in the conference with two games left in the regular season. Both teams are 12-6 in conference play, trailing Maryland (13-5). 

UP NEXT: The Illini travel to Ohio State on Thursday before closing the regular season on Sunday when Iowa comes to State Farm Center. 

Illinois Postgame Notes

Team Notes

• Illinois moves to 20-9 overall, 12-6 in the Big Ten with this afternoon's, 67-66, win over Indiana (18-11, 8-10).

• Illinois' 12th Big Ten win is the most in league play since 2005, when the Illini won the title with a 15-1 record. 

• 20 wins for the Illini is the most since 2017 (20-15).

• Illinois owns the largest turnaround this season among schools from the six major conferences (+10 games from 12-21 to 20-9).

• Illinois tied a season-high with six blocked shots, all by Kofi Cockburn.

• The Illini tied a season-low with just seven turnovers (7 at Wisconsin 1/8/20).

Individual Notes

• Freshman Kofi Cockburn set a career-high with six blocked shots against Indiana. His previous high was four blocks against Michigan on 12/11/19. Cockburn also added 15 points and five rebounds.

• Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu led the Illini in the game in scoring with 17 points, including the Illini's last five points to close out the game. He hit a three-pointer to put the Illini up 65-60 with 1:28 left and then hit two free throws with 4.5 seconds left to put the Illini up 67-63 before Hoosiers set the final margin at one with a three at the buzzer.

• Senior Andres Feliz tallied 15 points, making six of his 11 field goal attempts. Feliz also grabbed six rebounds and recorded three steals, including the game-clinching steal with 6.4 seconds left after the Hoosiers got an offensive rebound with the Illini up 65-63.   

EIU 70, SIUE 52

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Eastern Illinois jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back as the Panthers won their fourth straight game to close out the regular season with a 70-52 win at SIUE.

EIU improved to 16-14 overall, 9-9 in the OVC as the Panthers will play on Wednesday night in the OVC Tournament.  SIUE ends the year at 8-23 overall, 5-13 in the OVC.

Kashawn Charles hit a pair of 3-pointers in the 10-0 in what proved to be a big night for the guard as he finished with 17 points.

SIUE cut the lead to six points before the Panthers extended it back to 12 points on a 3-pointer by Mack Smith with 8:54 to play in the first putting EIU up 19-7.  Smith had 16 points in the game knocking down four 3-pointers as he moved into fourth on the EIU career 3-pointers made list and extended his consecutive games with a made 3-pointer streak to 79 games.

Charles transition lay-up with 30 seconds left in the half put EIU up 35-17 as they led 35-19 at the break.  

EIU opened the second half much the same way as the Panthers opened the game as a 10-2 run provided the Panthers a cushion in the second half. 

Lamar Wright was able to get the Panthers led back under 20 points for the first time in the second half with a pair of free throws with 3:41 left in the game. 

EIU ended the night knocking down 12 3-pointers. Josiah Wallace had 13 points and seven assists.  JaQualis Matlock added ten points with Shareef Smith collecting eight assists.

Tyresse Williford led the Cougars with 17 points.