URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In a back-and-forth game that saw 11 lead changes, seven tie scores and came down to the final minute, #20 Illinois was able to claw out a 60-55 victory over the Penn State men's basketball team Thursday night at the State Farm Center.
Senior Jalen Pickett led Penn State with a game-high 18 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds. Junior Seth Lundy finished with 11 points, while senior Greg Lee added nine.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Illinois held an early 10-6 lead before four points from Pickett and a 3-pointer from Caleb Dorsey helped the Nittany Lions put six of the next eight points on the board to pull within 12-11 nearly nine minutes into the game.
- The Illini worked their lead to 17-11, but a Sessoms jumper sparked a 7-0 Nittany Lion run that put Penn State up 18-17 with 9:21 left on the first-half clock.
- With Illinois ahead 24-18 three minutes later, Penn State answered with a 12-3 streak that stretched nearly four minutes as five points from Pickett and five from Lee helped the Nittany Lions jump ahead 30-27 with two minutes to play in the opening term. The Illini scored two points from the charity stripe in the final minute, but the Penn State kept Illinois without a field goal for the final 4:11 to control a 30-29 lead heading into the halftime break.
- A back-and-forth start to the second half saw neither team lead by more than three in the first ten minutes. The Illini then used a Kofi Cockburn dunk and transition layup to pull ahead 46-41 and force a Penn State timeout with 9:23 to play.
- A Greg Lee offensive put-back snapped the Illini streak and sparked an 8-3 Penn State stretch over the next 1:53 as the Nittany Lions answered right back to tie the game at 49 with 6:54 to play.
- A Dallion Johnson 3-pointer gave the Nittany Lions a 52-50 edge less than 50 seconds later, but Penn State went cold in the final minutes. The Nittany Lions had good looks, but finished just 1-for-11 from the field in the last six minutes.
- Illinois capitalized from the charity stripe, shooting 7-for-8 in the final 5:10 to survive for a 60-55 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Graduate student John Harrar suited up for a program-record 142nd time Thursday night to take sole possession of Penn State's career games played record. The record was previously held by Julian Moore (2013-18) with 141 career games played.
- The Penn State defense kept Illinois 16.9 points under its season average of 76.9 ppg.
- The Nittany Lions limited Illinois All-American Kofi Cockburn to 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, keeping the big man well below his season average of 21.5.
- John Harrar recorded his 800th career rebound in the first half, finishing the game with six boards.
- Jalen Pickett led the Nittany Lions in scoring for the 12th time this season. He finished 8-for-15 from the field.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
UP NEXT
- Penn State heads to Rutgers Sunday for the regular-season finale. Tipoff is set for noon on the Big Ten Network.
The 2021-22 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.