Will Riley scores 24, No. 18 Illinois mounts late comeback to beat Ohio State 87-79
AP
Feb 02, 2025
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) Will Riley scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half and No. 18 Illinois Fighting Illini rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat Ohio State Buckeyes 87-79 on Sunday.
Morez Johnson Jr. had 14 points and 15 rebounds, Kylan Boswell had 14 points, Tomislav Ivisic had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had 10 points for the Illini (15-7, 7-5 Big Ten), who went on a 15-point run over a five-minute stretch late in the second half.
Devin Royal scored 29 points - 19 in the first half - for Ohio State (13-9, 5-6), which had a three-game winning streak snapped. Bruce Thornton had 22 points and John Mobley Jr. had 18 points.
Ivisic, Illinois’ No. 2 scorer and leading rebounder, returned to action after missing three games with mononucleosis. He played 29 minutes.
Illinois: The Illini shot 10 of 42 on 3-pointers Thursday in a disappointing overtime loss to Nebraska, which had lost six straight. Illinois was just 4 of 20 on triples against Ohio State, but outrebounded the Buckeyes 43-31 and dominated points in the paint 52-30.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes’ three-game winning streak could have been a lot longer. They lost three in a row by a total of five points before ending the skid with a win Jan. 21 at No. 10 Purdue.
Illinois had a nearly seven-minute field goal drought in the first half and fell behind 34-25. The rest of the game was an uphill battle for the Illini until their 15-point run, which began with about seven minutes to go. Illinois led for less than 10 minutes.
Illinois is at Rutgers on Wednesday night while Ohio State hosts Maryland on Thursday night.
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1st Half
OSU
Buckeyes
42
ILL
Fighting Illini
36
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Aaron Bradshaw vs. Tomislav Ivisic (Buckeyes gains possession)
19:44
Bruce Thornton misses two point jump shot
19:42
Aaron Bradshaw offensive rebound
19:31
+2
Aaron Bradshaw makes two point layup
2-0
19:20
Tomislav Ivisic turnover (bad pass)
19:06
+2
Devin Royal makes two point layup
4-0
18:56
+2
Kasparas Jakucionis makes two point layup
4-2
18:45
+2
Devin Royal makes two point layup
6-2
18:37
+2
Morez Johnson Jr. makes two point dunk (Kasparas Jakucionis assists)
6-4
18:19
John Mobley Jr. misses two point layup
18:17
Tomislav Ivisic defensive rebound
18:07
Tomislav Ivisic turnover (lost ball)
17:50
Aaron Bradshaw misses two point jump shot
17:48
Tomislav Ivisic defensive rebound
17:35
Kasparas Jakucionis turnover (bad pass)
17:25
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn personal foul (Bruce Thornton draws the foul)
17:17
+3
John Mobley Jr. makes three point jump shot (Bruce Thornton assists)
9-4
17:00
Tomislav Ivisic misses three point jump shot
16:58
Morez Johnson Jr. offensive rebound
16:50
Aaron Bradshaw shooting foul (Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn draws the foul)
16:50
+1
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn makes regular free throw 1 of 2
9-5
16:50
+1
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn makes regular free throw 2 of 2
9-6
16:33
+2
Devin Royal makes two point layup
11-6
16:12
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn misses three point jump shot
16:10
Morez Johnson Jr. offensive rebound
16:00
Aaron Bradshaw blocks Morez Johnson Jr.'s two point layup
15:58
Bruce Thornton defensive rebound
15:49
+3
Devin Royal makes three point jump shot
14-6
15:28
Tre White misses two point layup
15:26
Morez Johnson Jr. offensive rebound
15:26
+2
Morez Johnson Jr. makes two point layup
14-8
15:26
Aaron Bradshaw shooting foul (Morez Johnson Jr. draws the foul)
15:25
TV timeout
15:26
+1
Morez Johnson Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 1
14-9
15:08
Ben Humrichous blocks Devin Royal's two point jump shot
15:06
Ben Humrichous defensive rebound
14:54
+2
Kylan Boswell makes two point layup (Kasparas Jakucionis assists)
14-11
14:41
Devin Royal misses three point jump shot
14:39
Evan Mahaffey offensive rebound
14:27
Micah Parrish misses three point jump shot
14:25
Tomislav Ivisic defensive rebound
14:16
+2
Kasparas Jakucionis makes two point layup
14-13
14:09
Devin Royal turnover (lost ball) (Ben Humrichous steals)
14:02
+3
Tomislav Ivisic makes three point jump shot (Ben Humrichous assists)
14-16
13:58
Buckeyes 30 second timeout
13:47
+2
Devin Royal makes two point dunk (Bruce Thornton assists)
16-16
13:27
Kasparas Jakucionis misses three point jump shot
13:25
Ques Glover defensive rebound
13:14
+3
Bruce Thornton makes three point jump shot
19-16
12:50
+2
Tomislav Ivisic makes two point layup (Kasparas Jakucionis assists)
19-18
12:50
Evan Mahaffey shooting foul (Tomislav Ivisic draws the foul)
12:50
+1
Tomislav Ivisic makes regular free throw 1 of 1
19-19
12:37
Devin Royal misses two point jump shot
12:35
Micah Parrish offensive rebound
12:20
Micah Parrish misses two point jump shot
12:18
Kylan Boswell defensive rebound
12:11
+2
Will Riley makes two point jump shot
19-21
12:00
Bruce Thornton misses three point jump shot
11:58
Devin Royal offensive rebound
11:49
Ivan Njegovan misses two point jump shot
11:47
Morez Johnson Jr. defensive rebound
11:40
+2
Morez Johnson Jr. makes two point dunk
19-23
11:17
Devin Royal turnover (bad pass)
10:54
Kylan Boswell turnover (back court violation)
10:54
TV timeout
10:48
+2
Bruce Thornton makes two point hook shot
21-23
10:48
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn shooting foul (Bruce Thornton draws the foul)
10:48
+1
Bruce Thornton makes regular free throw 1 of 1
22-23
10:30
Kasparas Jakucionis turnover (traveling)
10:03
Morez Johnson Jr. blocks Ques Glover's two point jump shot
10:01
Morez Johnson Jr. defensive rebound
10:01
Ques Glover personal foul (Morez Johnson Jr. draws the foul)
9:54
Jake Davis misses three point jump shot
9:52
Micah Parrish defensive rebound
9:40
Evan Mahaffey misses two point layup
9:38
Morez Johnson Jr. defensive rebound
9:29
Kasparas Jakucionis misses three point jump shot
9:27
Ques Glover defensive rebound
9:24
Ques Glover misses two point layup
9:22
Ques Glover offensive rebound
9:21
Ques Glover misses two point layup
9:19
Fighting Illini defensive rebound
9:04
Tomislav Ivisic misses three point jump shot
9:02
Devin Royal defensive rebound
8:56
+3
John Mobley Jr. makes three point jump shot
25-23
8:47
Tomislav Ivisic misses two point jump shot
8:45
John Mobley Jr. defensive rebound
8:40
Tre White personal foul (Devin Royal draws the foul)
8:33
John Mobley Jr. misses two point jump shot
8:31
Tre White defensive rebound
8:21
Tomislav Ivisic misses three point jump shot
8:19
Devin Royal defensive rebound
8:11
Kylan Boswell shooting foul (Micah Parrish draws the foul)