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With just under six minutes to play on Thursday night, Illinois faced a 16-point deficit against Ohio State. After leading the entire first half, the Illini allowed the Buckeyes to go on a 16-2 run out of halftime, never regaining control. But instead of falling further down, Coleman Hawkins, Trent Frazier, Jacob Grandison and Alfonso Plummer rallied to bring Illinois back within two points with two minutes to play.
But, the Buckeyes remained poised — even after the Illini knocked the deficit down to one at the 14-second mark — and made the necessary free throws. While the Illini had the last opportunity to score, they were unable to complete the comeback, falling 86-83 at State Farm Center.
Ohio State's Malaki Branham dominated the game, scoring 31 points, with 21 coming in the second half. E.J. Liddell and Kyle Young also came up big, with 21 and 18 points, respectively. Alfonso Plummer had a stellar night for the Illini, tallying 26 points on 8-of-10 shooting from three-point range.
Alfonso Plummer fueled the Illini offense the entire first half, starting with a three-pointer on the first possession. Malaki Branham came back with an and-1 jumper before Plummer drilled another three. Kofi Cockburn forced a turnover on the defensive end then got fouled on a shot, splitting a pair of free throws.
Kyle Young made his first jumper of the night but Plummer hit another deep ball, tallying nine points in the first four minutes while the Buckeyes totaled five points. A jumper from Trent Frazier and a tip in by Cockburn extended Illinois' lead to 14-5 while Ohio State went three minutes without scoring. A three from Young ended the drought, but layups from Cockburn and Grandison kept the Illini hot.
The Illini defense kept applying the pressure, forcing another three-minute scoring drought from the Buckeyes while Plummer made his fourth three-pointer of the night. E.J. Liddell scored his first basket of the night ending the drought, then Justin Ahrens scored a three to get back within eight points. While Da'Monte WIlliams slammed in it off a Cockburn miss, Ohio State followed with a 9-0 run to shrink Illinois' lead to two points.
Cockburn ended the run with an and-1 layup, then Hawkins had a steal and layup to push the lead to 27-22. The Buckeyes' offense kept up as Liddell and Young each hit threes, but Plummer countered with two treys of his own, tallying six in the first half.
While layups from Curbelo and Cockburn got Illinois' lead back up to seven points, the Buckeyes ended the half on a 6-0 run. The Illini headed to halftime with just a 37-36 lead. Plummer excelled in the half, totaling 18 points — all from threes — but Cockburn shot an uncharacteristic 4-of-12 from the field.
The Buckeyes kept the momentum out of the break, outscoring the Illini 16-2 in the first four and a half minutes. Branham and Liddell each accounted for five points to start the second half while Grandison had Illinois' only score with a steal and layup.
A three-pointer from Curbelo looked to get the Illini back on track, but the Buckeyes scored another six straight points to hold a 58-42 lead. Cockburn got back on the board with an and-1, but he committed his fourth foul of the game shortly after, forcing him to the bench.
Plummer and Branham traded shots then Grandison came up big with a three. A free throw from Hawkins and a layup from Frazier got the Illini within eight points, but Cedric Russell fired back with a deep ball. The teams traded shots before Branham scored six-straight points to create a 16-point Ohio State lead.
The Illini hung around before exploding for a 10-0 run fueled by a strong stretch from Coleman Hawkins both offensively and defensively. With under two minutes to play, a Grandison steal and layup combo got the Illini within two points. While Illinois continued to battle, Ohio State stayed strong from the free throw line, closing out the win.
Illinois will play its last road game Sunday afternoon against Michigan in Ann Arbor before returning home for the final two games of the season against Penn State and Iowa.
