PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP)Â - Ayo Dosunmu led Illinois with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in No. 13 Illinois' 91-88 loss at Rutgers on Sunday afternoon.
Illinois (5-3, 1-1 Big Ten) quickly jumped out to an 8-0 lead, leading by as many as 11 in the first half before going into the break up 41-37.
Rutgers (6-0, 2-0) would get to within one a couple of times in the second half before Harper hit a 3-pointer to give Rutgers its first lead of the game at 49-47 five minutes into the second half.Â
However, the lead wouldn't last, as Illinois tied it on the following possession on a dunk by Giorgi Bezhanishvili. The teams would trade leads before Harper had a dunk on a fastbreak midway through the half to make it 54-53. The Scarlet Knights would never give up the lead, going up by as many as 12.
Kofi Cockburn had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Illini, while Trent Frazier added 19 points and five assists.
The Fighting Illini are in the final leg of a back-to-back road trip, and were looking to start 2-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since 2013-14. While Rutgers prevented Illinois from doing so, the Illini look like a team poised to compete for the Big Ten title.
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Illinois travels to Penn State on Wednesday at 5:30 pm CT.
