Domask, Shannon each score 23 as Illini win on road vs. OSU
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Marcus Domask and Terrence Shannon Jr. each had 23 points and Ty Rodgers had 13 as No. 14 Illinois beat Ohio State 87-75 on Tuesday night.
Illinois (16-5, 7-3 Big Ten) held a 41-34 lead at the break after hitting 7 of 10 in the final 6:32 of the first half. Ohio State went scoreless in the final 2:16 of that span.
The Fighting Illini stretched their lead to 16 points in the second half. Dain Dainja contributed seven points and five rebounds on 3-of-5 shooting.
“Road wins are really hard to get and I’m excited about this one,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “Dain hasn’t gotten a ton of minutes with the way we’ve been playing, and for him to answer the call and be ready speaks volumes to who he is as a person and what a great teammate he is. Couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Rodgers posted the second double-double of his career adding 10 rebounds.
“I feel like it’s been a lot easier and more comfortable for me just being able to rep it out in practice,” Rodgers said. “Really just having confidence and still being aggressive and having my same ability to do what I do.”
It was Shannon’s fourth game back after sitting out six games because of a university-imposed suspension.
Shannon is facing a rape charge in Kansas, but he was granted a preliminary injunction by a federal judge on Jan. 19 that forced Illinois to reinstate him to the team.
Ohio State (13-8, 3-7) got within 10 points after Jamison Battle made a 3 with 1:54 remaining. The Buckeyes shot 6 of 10 in the final five minutes and went 50% on the night.
Battle scored 21 points and Roddy Gayle Jr. had 20 for the Buckeyes.
“I thought we had some good stretches, played better than the other night,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. “But obviously not good enough, so give Illinois credit.”
The Buckeyes have lost three in a row for the second time this season.
“We need to be nastier,” Holtmann said. “We need to be much nastier. We need to play with more force.”
Hossiers snap losing streak:
Kel’el Ware scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, reserve Anthony Leal scored a career-high 13 points, and Indiana withstood Iowa’s second-half rally and held on to beat the Hawkeyes 74-68 on Tuesday night to end a threegame losing streak.
Indiana entered having lost three of four. Indiana hadn’t beaten Iowa since Feb. 7, 2021, in a 67-65 contest. It was Indiana coach Mike Woodson’s first victory over Iowa. Northwestern remains the lone Big Ten team a Woodson-led squad hasn’t beaten.
Ware finished shooting 8 for 10 and 6 for 11 from the foul line. A former Mr. Basketball in high school from Bloomington, Indiana, Leal entered averaging 1.8 points per game and had only scored 14 points this season and just 16 points over the last two seasons. MacKenzie Mgbako added 11 points for Indiana.