USC Hands Illinois 82-72 Men's Basketball Loss

BY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 13 Illinois men's basketball dropped an 82-72 home game to Big Ten newcomer USC on Saturday, snapping the Fighting Illini's five-game win streak.

Four players scored in double-figures for the Illini (12-4, 4-2) who were playing without starting point guard Kasparas Jakucionis for the second straight game. Ben Humrichous led the way with 15 points including three of the team's seven three-pointers.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Tre White added 11 points each for the Illini and Kylan Boswell narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds to go along with a game-high six assists and a career-high-tying five steals.

USC was led by a game-high 31 points from Desmond Claude. 

The Illini worked to battle back from a slow start throughout most of the first half. USC (10-6, 2-3) led 19-10 at the 11:21 mark of the opening stanza, with the Illini shooting 0-4 from 3-point range to open the game. Out of a timeout, Humrichous knocked down the team's first triple to jump start the Illini.

The Orange and Blue hit their stride late in the half, closing on a 10-2 run to take a 38-35 lead into the break. Another Humrichous three-pointer gave the Illini their first lead since 2-0 with 51 seconds to go. Gibbs-Lawhorn recorded a steal on the ensuing USC possession, then hit White for on the fast break for a buzzer-beating layup to end the half with the Illini leading.  

Early in the second half, USC regained the lead, 53-47, on the heels of an early 14-4 run. The Illini responded with a 6-0 spurt of their own, capped by a Gibbs-Lawhorn 3-pointer to knot the game at 53 with 12:31 to play.  

The Trojans surrounded Humrichous' third triple with a 6-0 run and a 7-0 stretch, pushing their lead to double digits, 72-62, with 4 minutes remaining. The Illini answered with four straight – a pair of White free-throws and a Humrichous jumper in the lane – but were unable to pull any closer than six points in the final 3 minutes.

Next up, the Illini continue Big Ten play with two difficult road tests, beginning Tuesday night at Indiana (6 p.m. CT, Peacock) before an early Sunday tilt at Michigan State (11 a.m. CT, CBS).