Despite a great all-around game from sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr., Ohio State couldn’t come up with the win, as Fighting Illini senior guard Terrence Shannon Jr. led No. 14 Illinois to an 87-75 away bout in Columbus.
The Buckeyes battled with the Fighting Illini for the entirety of the first half — there were 11 lead changes but Illinois led by seven entering halftime.
Gayle and senior forward Jamison Battle started a combined perfect 8-8 for 17 points in the first 13 minutes.
However, Illinois graduate guard Marcus Domask responded with 11 of his own in the first and stayed aggressive the whole half, leading the way for the Fighting Illini’s 20 points in the paint.
The Buckeyes did a great job on the defensive end despite being down — a problem for Ohio State had been giving up easy transition buckets but they didn’t give up any in the first half. Head coach Chris Holtmann tried switching into a 1-3-1 zone defense but switched right back into man after a couple of quick buckets.
Gayle continued to attack in the second half with great efficiency, adding nine to his 20 total. After shooting the ball quite poorly in five out of his last seven games, this was likely a huge confidence boost for the young guard.
Battle added 21 total as well but there wasn’t much scoring outside of these two besides the occasional post bucket from sophomore forward Evan Mahaffey, who finished with 13.
But the Illini seemed to be too much for the Buckeyes in the second half. Shannon, after scoring just five in the first half, came alive in the second with 18 to complement sophomore guard Ty Rodgers, who had nine of his own.
It seemed every time Ohio State had something to say, Shannon would come right down the other end and respond with a bucket. He had two and-1’s and two 3-pointers in the second half to really shift the momentum for the Illini and boost them to victory.
Shannon and Domask both finished with 23 to end the game.
Ohio State battled until the buzzer, seemingly what they needed after a 25-point blowout loss to Northwestern.
The Buckeyes return to play Friday in Iowa City, Iowa, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to play Fran McCaffrey and the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m., streaming on FOX Sports 1.
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