Dosunmu, No. 23 Illinois hold off No. 18 Iowa 78-76

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Ayo Dosunmu scored 17 points and No. 23 Illinois held off No. 18 Iowa 78-76 on Sunday to secure the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Conference tournament.

Andres Feliz scored 14 points, Kofi Cockburn had 12 and Kipper Nichols added 10 for Illinois (21-10, 12-8 Big Ten).

Luka Garza scored a game-high 28 points for Iowa (20-11, 11-9), which finished in a four-way tie for fifth in the Big Ten and will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Joe Toussaint scored 14 and Connor McCaffery added 10.

Illinois built a 17-point lead late in the game, using a 12-2 run to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. But that lead evaporated to two points in the final seconds and it took Cockburn blocking a shot by Garza under the basket at the buzzer to seal the win.

Cockburn was a big presence for Illinois, scoring nine points in the first 10 minutes. Defensively, the Illini had problems getting stops early and Iowa’s Garza took command both in the paint and from the perimeter.

Emotions ran high throughout the game. With less than two minutes left in an entertaining first half, a scrum erupted that resulted in technical fouls for Illinois’ Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams and Iowa’s Connor McCaffery and CJ Fredrick.

The score was tied at 41-41 at the half.

BIG PICTURE

The No. 4 seed gives Illinois another day of rest. The Illini got a double bye in the tournament, while Iowa will have to start a day earlier.

UP NEXT

Iowa opens Big Ten tournament play on Thursday.

Illinois plays Friday in its tournament opener.