Kofi Cockburn had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Ayo Dosunmu scored 12 and No. 15 Illinois beat Purdue 66-58. Da’Monte Williams added 12 points for the Fighting Illini 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 is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, but Illinois outrebounded the Boilermakers 39-33. Illinois shot 48% from the field, while Purdue finished at 39%
In other Illinois Games:
Marvin Johnson and Josiah Wallace scored 19 points apiece as Eastern Illinois beat Tennessee Tech 87-81. Kashawn Charles added 16 points for the Panthers. Damaria Franklin led the Golden Eagles with 25 points.
Aher Uguak had a career-high 26 points as Loyola of Chicago beat North Texas 57-49. The matchup was set after North Texas’ originally scheduled game against UAB to open its Conference USA schedule was postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests within the Blazers’ program. Cameron Krutwig had 12 points for Loyola of Chicago (7-2), which earned its fourth straight win. Javion Hamlet had 14 points for the Mean Green (4-4). James Reese added 13 points. Thomas Bell had three blocks. It was the first meeting between the schools.
Justin Turner had 20 points as Bowling Green romped past Northern Illinois 68-42. Daeqwon Plowden had 12 points and nine rebounds for Bowling Green, which earned its fourth straight road victory. Trey Diggs added 11 points. Caleb Fields had 10 points. Darius Beane had 13 points for the Huskies. Tyler Cochran added 11 points and seven rebounds. Trendon Hankerson, the Huskies’ leading scorer coming into the contest at 13 points per game, scored only four points on 2-of-12 shooting. NIU’s 42 points were the fewest given up by Bowling Green in a MAC game in eight years.
Sam Griesel recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds to help carry North Dakota State to a 68-50 win over Western Illinois. Rocky Kreuser had 17 points for North Dakota State, which snapped its four-game road losing streak. Maleeck Harden-Hayes added 16 points. Tyree Eady had 13 points. Rod Johnson Jr. had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Leathernecks, who were playing their first conference game of the season.
