Following a hard-fought victory over Indiana last Saturday, No. 14 Illinois men’s basketball hit the road for its 10th conference game of the season. Steady nights from graduate student forward Marcus Domask and sophomore Ty Rodgers combined with an explosive second half by fifth-year Terrence Shannon Jr. resulted in a dominant 87-75 win over Ohio State on Tuesday night.
Illinois stuck with the standard and rolled out its most used starting lineup against Ohio State. Graduate student forward Quincy Guerrier and Domask took the floor alongside Shannon, senior forward Coleman Hawkins and Rodgers.
The Buckeyes came down with their home tipoff and got right to work, putting two points on the board within 16 seconds. Guerrier responded with two of his own before Domask set up Shannon behind the arc to take a 5-4 lead. Ohio State rallied to take a brief one-point edge, but a shot from distance by Hawkins flipped the count once again (10-8).
Neither side could create any separation through the opening minutes, and the score was tied on five occasions before the clock crossed 10 minutes. Junior guard Luke Goode knocked down his first three-pointer off of the bench, contributing to Illinois’ scorching hot start from long range (5-10).
Several Illini saw first-half action on top of usual reserves such as Goode and graduate student guard Justin Harmon. After Hawkins picked up his second foul, head coach Brad Underwood subbed in the freshmen duo of guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and forward Amani Hansberry.
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The underclassmen provided some good minutes while a combination of Domask and Guerrier elevated Illinois to a game-high seven-point advantage at halftime (41-34). Through 20 minutes, Domask had a team-high 11 points and Rodgers showed out on the glass (5).
Illinois carried its momentum into the second half as two quick buckets from Hawkins and Rodgers pushed the game to double digits for the first time (45-34). Rodgers quickly pushed the advantage back to 11 with an and-one following a response by the Buckeyes.
A personal foul and a technical foul after the play forced Hawkins to go to the bench with 14:15 remaining, but Illinois’ leading trio of Domask, Rodgers and Shannon continued to keep Ohio State at bay. Redshirt junior forward Dain Dainja even completed an and-one putback, exemplifying one of Illinois’ best performances of the season from the free throw line (13-15).
Despite a shaky first half, Shannon took off while defending Illinois’ second-half lead. Six straight points for the Chicago native tied a game-high 16-point lead while pushing his personal total to 20 points (76-60).
Hawkins returned on four fouls with just over five minutes before the final buzzer. In Hawkins’ absence, Dainja notched an efficient seven points and reeled in five rebounds.
A huge lead and most of Illinois’ starters on the floor resulted in an easy closeout for the visitors. Ohio State was unable to get within striking distance down the stretch and Illinois walked out of Columbus with an 87-75 victory. Shannon and Domask earned 23 points each, while Rodgers missed just one shot en route to his second double-double of the season (13p/10r).
No. 14 Illinois men’s basketball is back at home this Sunday, hosting Nebraska at 5:30 p.m. CT.
