COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Trent Frazier had 15 points and Ayo Dosunmu buried a key 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining as Illinois held off Ohio State 63-56 Thursday for its fourth win in a row.
Dosunmu also scored 15 points and Giorgi Bezhanishvili added 13 for the Illini (10-15, 6-8 Big Ten), who won their first true road game of the season.
The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Buckeyes (16-8, 6-7), who committed 18 turnovers leading to 14 Illini points.
Dosunmu made two free throws to give Illinois the lead for good with 8:15 to play and his 3-pointer three minutes later made it 51-46. Luther Muhammad hit two foul shots to pull the Buckeyes within three with 57 seconds left but Dosunmu, who scored nine points in the final eight-plus minutes, answered with a 3.
C.J. Jackson led Ohio State with 17 points, but he also had seven turnovers. Brothers Kaleb and Andre Wesson contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, as Ohio State shot just 36 percent.
Bezhanishvili had just two points in the first half but scored Illinois' first seven points of the second. Illinois shot 44 percent from the field.
Keyshawn Woods, who scored 18 points in Ohio State's Dec. 5 win against Illinois, was held to just three points.
Illinois' speed resulted in 11 fast-break points and proved the difference.
ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
• Illinois has now won four straight games and five of their last six. Since starting the season 4-12, 0-5, the Illini have gone 6-3 over their last nine games.
• The four-game winning streak is currently the longest active streak in the Big Ten, ahead of Iowa (3 games). The last time the Illini won four straight B1G games was Feb. 18-March 1, 2017.
• The win was the first for the Illini at Ohio State since Feb. 22, 2009, snapping an eight game losing streak at Value City Arena. Illinois is now 3-14 all time at Value City Arena.
• Illinois and Ohio State split the season series, with the Buckeyes winning 77-67 at the United Center on Dec. 5. The Illini lead the all-time series 106-78, while the Buckeyes lead 48-42 in Columbus.
• The Fighting Illini got their first true road win of the season, improving to 1-6 in road games. The Illini also beat Maryland on a neutral site, at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 26.
• Illinois moved into a tie for eighth place in the Big Ten with a 6-8 mark. The Illini are tied with Minnesota (6-8) and are half game behind Ohio State (6-7) for seventh place.
• The Illini led for 30:07 of the game and trailed for just 4:16. Illinois led a halftime (30-27) for the 14th time this season, improving to 8-6 in those games.
• As a team, Illinois tied a season high with six blocked shots. The squad also swatted six shots against UNLV on 12/8/18.
• The Illini, who lead the Big Ten in tempo, outscored the Buckeyes 11-3 in transition.
• Up Next: The Illini return to action on Monday with a trip to Wisconsin to face the Badgers (7 pm CT on FS1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• As they have all year, the trio of Trent Frazier (15 points), Ayo Dosunmu (15 points) and Giorgi Bezhanishvili (13 points) led the Fighting Illini attack. Dosunmu has now led the team in scoring 11 times this season, while Frazier has eight times.
• Freshman Ayo Dosunmu, the reigning Big Ten freshman of the Week, hit the biggest shot of the game, a dagger three-pointer with 29 seconds left to give the Illini a 62-56 lead. He also added four rebounds and three assists.
• Freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili, fresh off a 35-point game and Big Ten player of the Week honors, blocked a career high four shots against the Buckeyes. His previous high was two (2x). He hit 6-of-9 from the field, pulled down a team high seven rebounds and had two steals to go along with his 13 points, his 14th double-digit scoring game of the season. He has hit 20-of-27 shots in the last two games (.741).
• Sophomore Trent Frazier continued his hot shooting, hitting 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-5 from downtown for his 15 points. Over the last five games, Frazier has hit 19-of-36 from three-point range (.528).
• Junior Andres Feliz continued his solid play with nine points and six rebounds, tying a career high on the boards. He's averaging 10.3 points per game over the last six games.
• Freshman Alan Griffin played a career high 16 minutes, contributing two points, four rebounds and two steals, while playing tough defense against the Buckeyes.
