ILLINOIS 64, PENN STATE 63
Illinois managed just a single field goal in the final five minutes of its Thursday matinee with Penn State. But Chester Frazier’s reverse layup with 3.8 seconds left was enough to give the Illini a 64-63 victory over the Nittany Lions and move them into a second-round game Friday against Purdue at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
Illinois led through much of this game and appeared to have it under control when it went up 10 points on a pair of Shaun Pruitt free throws with 4:52 remaining. That made the Illini, a league-worst .622 from the line in the regular season, 13 of 14 from it in this affair, but the shots reverted to form and nearly cost them.
First, Trent Meacham missed a front end of a one-and-one at 4:36 and then Pruitt missed a pair at 4:03, which helped Penn State scramble back to within three. The Illini were struggling, too, from the field, and when a Calvin Brock runner rolled out with less than 10 seconds remaining, they had missed their last five field goal attempts and the Nittany Lions were up one.
But the Brock miss went out to the Illini and, on the inbounds play, Frazier found Meacham, slipped in under the basket and took the return pass from Meacham that he put in for the winner.
Brian Randle, who fouled out with 2:51 remaining, led the Illini with 17 points. Meacham chipped in 14 and Pruitt ended with a double-double, 10 points and 11 rebounds.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
– First round
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
