Illinois Fight Tooth and Nail with No. 9 Purdue in Close Loss

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini lived up to its billing in a gutsy 93-86 loss to No. 9 Purdue Thursday evening at State Farm Center.

Behind junior Leron Black's 28 points on 12-of-25 shooting, the game was close wire-to-wire. Freshman Trent Frazier scored all 20 of his points in the second half.

Carsen Edwards scored career-high 40 points and Dakota Mathias added 18 for Purdue (25-5, 14-3). 

There were eight lead changes in the first half, highlighted by two big runs. With just under 10 minutes left Edwards stole the ball and went down for a huge dunk to spark a 17-6 run for the Boilermakers. The Illini responded with a 10-3 run to close out the half trailing 43-38.

Illinois (13-17, 3-14) stayed within striking distance the rest of the game, evening taking a 53-52 lead at one point, but ultimately Purdue's size and Edwards scoring were too much. The sophomore scored 25 of his points in the second half, including a monstrous dunk with just under seven minutes to play.

Purdue shot 58.3 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from beyond the 3-point line. The Boilermakers also outrebounded the Illini 33-20.

For Illinois' Black, it was his fourth straight game scoring at least 20 points. Sophomore Te'Jon Lucas returned to Illinois' starting lineup and scored 12 points with six rebounds and five assists. Freshman Da'Monte Williams added 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from three-point range for the Illini.

The Boilermakers were without their second-leading scorer Vincent Edwards.

Up next, Illinois travels to Piscataway, New Jersey to face Rutgers on Sunday at 2 pm CT.

Team Notes

• Illinois scored 86 points, the second-most by a Purdue opponent this season (Michigan had 88).
• The Illini bench outscored the Purdue bench, 24-10.
• Illinois had just six turnovers on the night, tied for the second-lowest total of the season (5 at Michigan State 2/20).
• The Illini had 19 assists, the second-most in Big Ten play (22 vs. Iowa 1/11). 

Individual Notes

• RS Junior Leron Black matched his career-best point total with 28 against Purdue, hitting 12-of-25 shots, 3-of-7 threes and 1-of-1 free throw.
  • It marked Black's eight career game over 20 points and the seventh time this season. 
  • It was his fourth-straight game with 20-plus points (20 at Indiana, 2/14; 28 vs. Nebraska, 2/18; 20 vs. Michigan State, 2/20; 28 vs. Purdue, 2/22). Prior to this streak, Black had scored 20+ points four times in his career. 
  • Black had a career-high 12 made field goals.
• Freshman Trent Frazier scored 20 points, all in the second half, going 7-for-12 in the frame and also contributed six assists and a career-high five steals.
  • It was the fifth time Frazier has score at least 20 points this season. 
  • Frazier has scored in double figures in 18 of his last 20 games. 
• Freshman Da'Monte Williams scored a career-best 11 points, going 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from the three-point arc. Entering the game, Williams had hit just 6-of-35 from three-point range (.171). 
• Sophomore Te'Jon Lucas Lucas went 2-for-2 from behind the arc, a new career-high for 3FG, and scored 12 points. He entered the game just 2-for-14 from three-point range this season (.143).
  • Lucas made his first start since January 3 at Minnesota and had a team-high six rebounds.
• RS Junior Michael Finke returned to the court after missing four games due to a concussion. Finke had two points and had one rebound in 15 minutes.