Indiana University
14-4, 4-1
Illinois
12-7, 2-4
Hoosiers Pick Up Road Win at Illinois, 80-74
1/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Led by 21 points from Troy Williams and James Blackmon Jr., Indiana picked up its second road Big Ten win of the season as the Hoosiers defeated Illinois on Sunday afternoon, 80-74.
The victory improved Indiana to 4-1 in the Big Ten and a 14-4 record overall. The loss was the Illini's (12-7, 2-4 Big Ten) first of the season at the State Farm Center.
Blackmon and Williams, who shot 80 percent (8-of-10) from the field, both scored 14 of their points in the final period as the Hoosiers closed the game on a 15-5 run to come back from a nine-point second-half deficit.
Illinois opened the game on an 11-2 run, including three straight triples from Kendrick Nunn, who finished the game with 24 points, including 60 percent (6-of-10) shooting from behind the arc.
The Hoosiers, who trailed by 11 with 14:28 remaining in the opening stanza, answered with a 31-9 run, sparked by triples from Robert Johnson, Kevin Yogi Ferrell and Nick Zeisloft to take an 11-point lead of their own at 34-23 with 5:34 left in the half.
Ferrell finished the game with seven points and nine assists, one shy of his career high set against Jacksonville in 2012.
After Illinois responded with an 11-0 run, Williams closed out the period with back-to-back slam dunks as the Hoosiers took a 38-34 advantage into the locker room.
Indiana extended its lead into the second half as Blackmon and Williams traded buckets to each score six points in the early minutes of the period to give Indiana a 10-point advantage with 16:54 remaining.
However, Illinois used another triple from Nunn to spark a 21-2 run over the next six minutes of play to take its largest lead of the half at 61-52.
A pair of free throws by Ferrell began a 15-5 Indiana run to close out the game as the Hoosiers knocked in eight from the line in the final 3:41 to seal the victory.
The Hoosiers return to Assembly Hall on Thursday as they play host to No. 11/14 Maryland at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
Media Contact: J.D. Campbell, jc56@indiana.edu
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