No. 10 Illinois rebounds, thwarts Michigan St.
Marcus Domask scored 15 points, including four free throws in the closing minutes that helped No. 10 Illinois hold off Michigan State 71-68 on Thursday night. Coleman Hawkins and Ty Rodgers also scored 15 points apiece for the Illini (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten), who bounced back after a close loss at then-no. 1 Purdue last Friday.
Tyson Walker scored 17 points and A.J. Hoggard added 16 for the Spartans (9-7, 1-4), who fell into a last-place tie with Michigan in the conference standings.
Michigan State got within one point three times in the final two minutes, the last time on Walker's layup that cut Illinois' lead to 69-68 with 35 seconds left. Domask was fouled and sank both free throws. Walker and Hoggard each missed 3-pointers that would have tied it in the final 15 seconds.
“That's what you expect a Michigan State game to look like,” said Illinois coach Brad Underwood. “It wasn't pretty.”
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said the Spartans lost to a “damn good team.”
“I know people are going to give up on us and I don't blame them,” he said. “But I know what this team can do. We're going to win some games.”
Michigan State led 48-42 with 13:22 remaining, but Illinois responded with a 10-2 run. A layup by Walker tied the game at 52-all before Illinois went on a 7-0 burst, capped by a 3pointer from Hawkins.
The Illini led the rest of the game.
Illinois led 37-34 at halftime. The Spartans missed nine of their first 10 shots and fell behind by 10 points, but rallied to climb within 35-34 on a 3-pointer by Walker.
Illinois improved to 3-1 without star Terrance Shannon Jr., who has been suspended by the university because he's facing a rape charge in Lawrence, Kansas.
Shannon is seeking a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court in Springfield that would force the university to reinstate him. His case was scheduled to be heard on Friday.
His arraignment on the rape charge is scheduled for Jan. 18. A trial isn't expected to begin until June.
Hawkins said the team is trying to ignore the outside noise caused by Shannon's legal issues.
“Our days are the same. We have the same routine,” he said.
SANTA CLARA 77 NO. 23 GONZAGA 76
Adama-alpha Bal made a go-ahead layup with 4.6 seconds remaining\, and the host Broncos beat the Bulldogs.
With former Santa Clara great and Basketball Hall of Famer Steve Nash in attendance, Bal finished with 17 points and six assists as the Broncos (12-6, 3-0 West Coast Conference) snapped a 26-game skid against the Bulldogs. Santa Clara hadn't beaten Gonzaga since Jan. 20, 2011.
Brenton Knapper added 16 points for Santa Clara. Many Broncos fans stormed the court at the buzzer.
Anton Watson matched a career high with 32 points to lead Gonzaga (11-5, 2-1).
He added nine rebounds and six steals. Ryan Nembhard scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half for the Bulldogs.
NO. 24 FLA. ATLANTIC 85 TULANE 84
Alijah Martin hit two of three free throws after being fouled by Tulane's Jaylen Forbes on a desperation 3-point attempt that was not close to going in with less than a second left, and the visiting Owls escaped with the win.
Nick Boyd tied a career high with 21 points to lead FAU (12-4, 2-1 American Athletic Conference), which led 83-74 after Brandon Weatherspoon's 3 with 3:03 left, but nearly collapsed.
Vladislav Goldin had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Owls. Forbes scored 28 points and Kevin Cross added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Green Wave (10-5, 1-2).
Women NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 81 MISSOURI
Bree Hall scored a career-high 21 points, Te-hina Paopao added 15 and the top-ranked Gamecocks pulled away in the second half in Columbia, Mo.
The Gamecocks (15-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) led by just five points midway through the third quarter before the Tigers (9-7, 0-3) finally went cold from the perimeter, allowing coach Dawn Staley's team to run its regular-season winning streak to 65 games.
South Carolina's last loss was an overtime setback at Missouri on Dec. 30, 2021. Hayley Frank and Ashton Judd had 16 points apiece to lead the Tigers.
NO. 6 N.C. STATE 93 VIRGINIA 66
Freshman Zoe Brooks scored a season-high 19 points the host Wolfpack (15-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the Cavaliers (8-7, 0-4).
NO. 7 LSU 87 TEXAS A&M 70
Angel Reese had 20 points and 18 rebounds, Aneesah Morrow scored 21 points and the host Tigers beat the Aggies.
Defending national champion LSU (16-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference), which had all five starters score in double figures, hasn't lost since a season-opening defeat to Colorado.
Mikaylah Williams scored 16 points, Hailey Van Lith had 14 and Flau'jae Johnson finished with 11.
Endyia Rogers led the Aggies with 27 points.