PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) – Alan Griffin scored 14 points and Kofi Cockburn had his 10th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but Rutgers pulled away for a 72-57 home win over Illinois Saturday at The RAC.
Ron Harper Jr. hit all five of his 3-pointers and scored 27 points as Rutgers remained unbeaten at home (17-0), while sending the Illini to their fourth straight loss.
Gio Baker and Akwasi Yeboah added 12 points apiece and Myles Johnson had 11 rebounds for Rutgers (18-8, 9-6 Big Ten), who is a nation's best 17-0 at home.
Illinois (16-9, 8-6) played without leading scorer Ayo Dosunmu (15.8 points). The sophomore guard hurt his left knee at the final buzzer in a loss against Michigan State on Tuesday night. There was no structural damage, and he made the road trip, watching the game in sweats.
Andres Feliz had 10 points to join Griffin and Cockburn in double-figures for Illinois. Trent Frazier added 9 points, but was just 2-13 from the field.
Feliz hit a 3-pointer to get Illinois within 43-42 early in the second half, but Johnson scored underneath and Harper nailed a 3-pointer to ignite an 11-point run that gave the Scarlet Knights at 54-42 lead.
Illinois, which shot 31% from the field, never got closer than seven points again. It trailed by 20 late.
Harper was the story for Rutgers in the opening 20 minutes. He scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in helping the Scarlet Knights take a 34-32 lead at halftime.
UP NEXT: Illinois looks to snap a 4-game losing streak when they had to No. 13 Penn State on Tuesday (5:30 pm CT on FS1).
ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES
• It was just the second-ever win for Rutgers over Illinois, snapping a four-game series winning streak for the Illini. Illinois leads the all time series 7-2.
• Freshman Kofi Cockburn extended his own school record for double-doubles by a freshman with 10. He finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
• Sophomore Alan Griffin (14 points) led the team in scoring for the third time this season.
• Illinois was without leading scorer Ayo Dosunmu (15.8 ppg), who was injured on the final play of Tuesday's loss to Michigan State. He is day-to-day.
