Illinois’ mastery of Iowa fizzles
Tony Perkins scorched Illinois with 25 of his career-high 32 points in the second half, and Iowa (15-8, 7-5 Big Ten) eked out an 81-79 victory in Iowa City on Saturday to snap a five-game losing streak to the Fighting Illini (16-7, 7-5).
Iowa connected on 26 of its 30 free throws to 18-for-23 for the Illini in a nail-biter in which neither had a double-digit lead. There were nine lead changes and nine ties.
Matthew Mayer tallied 21 points for Illinois, which had a three-game winning streak snapped after coming in having won seven of eight. Dain Dainja added 17 points and nine rebounds, Jayden Epps had 14 of his 16 in the second half and Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 11.
Perkins went 8-for-11 from the floor and missed just one of 16 freethrow attempts, all of them coming in the second half. Kris Murray added 19 points and Filip Rebraca 13 for Iowa, which won its third in a row and seventh of its last nine.
Payton Sandfort’s three snapped a tie, and Murray added a free throw with 29 seconds left. Illinois’ RJ Melendez sank two free throws before Perkins, with 10.1 remaining, made it a three-point edge with a free throw before his only miss from the line.
Illinois raced down the floor, but Epps was short on a three. Coleman Hawkins got the offensive rebound and was fouled with 1.1 left. He made the first free throw before his intentional miss on the second attempt was grabbed by Iowa’s Connor McCaffery.
Loyola 69, George Mason 61
The Ramblers (8-14, 2-8 Atlantic 10) picked up a victory over the Patriots (13-11, 5-6) at Gentile Arena behind a balanced attack that saw Philip Alston, Bryce Golden and Braden Norris each notch 13 points.
Alston’s layup with 10:11 left in the second half gave Loyola the lead for good at 47-45. The Ramblers limited George Mason to 32% shooting (16-for-50) and took great care of the ball with just six turnovers.
Malik Henry, Ronald Polite and De’Von Cooper tallied 14 points each for the Patriots.
UIC 70, Evansville 61
Steven Clay bounced off the bench at Credit Union 1 Arena to score 17 points and grab five rebounds, helping the Flames (10-15, 2-12 Missouri Valley) end a 10-game skid and compound the woes of the free-falling Purple Aces (4-21, 0-14).
Jace Carter contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds for UIC, which gained separation with an eight-point run to take a 48-37 lead with 10:36 left in the second half. Kenny Strawbridge’s 20 points led Evansville, which has dropped 12 in a row.
Wake Forest 81, Notre Dame 64
Sharpshooting Damari Monsanto went 8-for-13 from beyond the arc en route to 28 points as the visiting Demon Deacons (15-9, 7-6 ACC) dumped the Fighting Irish (10-13, 2-10). Nate Laszewski had 18 points for Notre Dame, which shot 4-for-21 on threes.
Chicago State 62, Hartford 49
Wesley Cardet Jr.’s 13 points helped the Cougars (8-17) humble the host Hawks (5-18). Jahsean Corbett added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Indiana 79, Purdue 74
Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 25 points and Jalen Hood-Schifino delivered the clinching basket on a dunk with two seconds left as the No. 21 Hoosiers (16-7, 7-5 Big Ten) knocked off the No. 1 Boilermakers (22-2, 11-2). It was Indiana’s fourth all-time victory at Assembly Hall in Bloomington over a top-ranked team. Zach Edey had 33 points and 18 rebounds for Purdue.
Rutgers 61, Michigan State 55
Paul Mulcahy scored all 17 of his points in the second half, and the Scarlet Knights (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten) rallied to defeat the Spartans (14-9, 6-6) at Madison Square Garden in New York.