National Basketball Association
Illinois 66, Purdue 58
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 2, 2021
Where: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
Officials:
# Donnie Eppley, # Courtney Green, # Paul Szelc
Attendance:
167
By Field Level Media
Despite surrendering the first 16 points of the second half, No. 15 Illinois rallied to earn a 66-58 Big Ten victory over Purdue on Saturday night in Champaign, Ill.
Kofi Cockburn produced 14 points and 10 rebounds to guide Illinois (8-3, 4-1 Big Ten) to its third win in a row. Senior swingman Da'Monte Williams added 12 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double while Ayo Dosunmu scored all 12 of his points in the first half.
Trevion Williams and Brandon Newman scored 14 points apiece to pace Purdue (7-5, 2-3), which couldn't grab its first road win despite transforming a 33-20 deficit late in the first half into a 39-33 lead with just under 16 minutes to go.
Illinois missed eight of its first nine shots as the hosts alternated between clanging 3-pointers and unsuccessfully challenging Purdue's 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, who blocked two shots and changed two others.
Nonetheless, Illinois took control midway through the first half. Purdue scored just two points over a nine-minute stretch -- missing 15 out of 16 shots -- as the Illini turned a 7-2 deficit into a 16-9 lead.
When Andre Curbelo (eight points, six assists) found Cockburn in transition for an alley-oop slam with 9:48 left in the half, Illinois owned a 10-0 run and a 16-9 lead that forced Purdue coach Matt Painter to call a timeout.
Purdue got as close as 23-20 on Williams' clever turnaround in Cockburn's face with 2:06 left in the half, but Illinois reeled off 10 straight points in 1:45 to take a 33-23 lead into halftime.
Curbelo orchestrated nearly the entire run as he fed Cockburn in the post for a left hook, then set up Williams for a 3-pointer from each corner. Dosunmu capped the spree with a fast-break layup on a feed from Trent Frazier.
But Illinois didn't break Purdue's spirit. Aaron Wheeler cashed a 3-pointer before the halftime buzzer, then the Boilers scored the first 16 points of the second half to seize a 39-33 lead with 15:51 to go. Newman scored nine points during the spree while Williams added four along with a no-look back door feed to Newman for a three-point play.
But as quickly as the Boilers heated up, they cooled off again.
The Illini embarked on a 22-6 run to regain a 55-45 advantage with nine minutes to play -- and they did it without Dosunmu taking a shot as freshmen Curbelo, Adam Miller (10 points) and Coleman Hawkins combined for the final 10 points of the run.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Purdue |
|
Illinois |
Brandon Newman 14 |
Scoring |
Kofi Cockburn 14 |
Eric Hunter Jr. 4 |
Assists |
Andre Curbelo 6 |
Trevion Williams 8 |
Rebounds |
Kofi Cockburn 10 |
Brandon Newman 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Adam Miller 4 |
Eric Hunter Jr. 2 |
Steals |
Trent Frazier 3 |
Zach Edey 3 |
Blocks |
Kofi Cockburn 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Purdue
|
58 |
39.3 |
7-16 |
7-12 |
11 |
32 |
4 |
3 |
14 |
Illinois
|
66 |
48.1 |
7-20 |
9-22 |
17 |
36 |
6 |
6 |
12 |