After getting its eighth straight win over Michigan, No. 14 Illinois men’s basketball faced an opponent that has caused much more trouble over the years. Despite dropping 10 of their last 12 meetings with the Terrapins, the Illini came out on top of an intense 85-80 game.
Head coach Brad Underwood stuck with the starting lineup he knows best against Maryland. Graduate student forwards Marcus Domask and Quincy Guerrier were next to fifth-year guard Terrence Shannon Jr., senior forward Coleman Hawkins and sophomore guard Ty Rodgers.
Illinois came down with the tipoff and wasted no time getting on the board. A three from Hawkins was a sign of what was to come, as the Illini knocked down three of their first four attempts from outside.
As shooting began to cool off, Illinois went to work at the free-throw line. Domask and Guerrier contributed eight total free throws to the Illini’s first 24 points. Despite Illinois finding success at multiple levels of offense, Maryland stayed on its hip the entire time. Just when the Illini appeared to be separating, the Terrapins responded with a 13-4 run that flipped the score from a five-point lead to a four-point deficit.
Several relatively unforced turnovers by Maryland let Illinois back into the game as the first half drew to a close. The Illini returned to their five-point advantage on a couple of occasions and took a 43-38 lead into the break. Domask and Shannon were a double-headed scoring attack in the first half, notching 13 and 11 points respectively.
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The Illini opened up the second half with a pair of buckets that tied their highest lead of the game on both occasions, but they were unable to continue building. Both teams exchanged baskets for minutes on end, Maryland cutting the lead to a single possession before Illinois pushed it back to a more manageable margin.
Shannon continued to succeed on drives and at the free-throw line, but also stepped it up a notch on the defensive end. His third block of the half and fourth of the game set up Illinois to break the cycle of scoring and extend its lead to seven (66-59).
However, the Terrapins responded quickly with a 5-0 run to once again make it a one point game. Fouls continued to pile up for both squads, which were both in double bonus for the final seven minutes of the game. This feature resulted in an errant offensive rebound attempt from junior guard Luke Goode giving Maryland the two free throws it needed to tie the game at 68-68 inside the final six minutes.
Allowing an offensive rebound once again turned into costly free throws for the Illini, cutting their lead to one. Illinois turned the corner with an and-one finish by Hawkins before getting up by six thanks to a tough layup by Shannon.
Totaling just two points from 3:30 to 0:11 ended up being a death sentence for Maryland, which could not overcome the cushion Illinois had built up during that time. Illinois came out of a storm that ended with seven total players at four personal fouls with a five-point victory. Rodgers, Hawkins and Goode were Illinois’ players at four fouls while Domask, Guerrier and graduate student guard Justin Harmon finished with three fouls.
Shannon had yet another impressive showing for the Illini. A dominant force around the basket, he generated 16 free throw attempts and sank 14 en route to 27 total points.
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