Purdue squanders second-half lead in 66-58 loss to Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Kofi Cockburn had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Ayo Dosunmu scored 12 and No. 15 Illinois beat Purdue 66-58 on Saturday.
Da’Monte Williams added 12 points for the Fighting Illini (8-3, 4-1 Big Ten) in their seventh consecutive Big Ten home win dating to last season. Andre Curbelo, who leads the conference in assists, had six.
Brandon Newman scored 14 points and big man Trevion Williams had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Boilermakers.
Purdue (7-5, 2-3) is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, but Illinois outrebounded the Boilermakers 39-33. Illinois shot 48% (25 of 52) from the field, while Purdue was 22 of 56 for 39%.
The Boilermakers started the second half with a 16-0 run to take a 39-33 lead before Illinois found its range from behind the 3-point line. Long shots by Williams and Trent Frazier helped the Illini take the lead for good.
Purdue jumped out to a 7-2 lead before Illinois slowly began to control the tempo of the game. Fueled by acrobatic passes from Curbelo, both Cockburn and Dosunmu took over early for the Illini. Cockburn had six points and seven rebounds, and Dosunmu scored 12 in the opening period.
Illinois led 33-23 at halftime.
BIG PICTURE
The Illini grinded out another conference win in one of the deepest and most talented leagues in the country.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Illinois could rise a bit Monday after coach Brad Underwood’s squad took care of business in a Big Ten home game.
UP NEXT
Purdue: Hosts Nebraska on Tuesday.
Illinois: Faces a tough conference road game against No. 19 Northwestern on Thursday.
