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IOWA CITY, Iowa. --Â Illinois battled for all 40 minutes on the road on Saturday afternoon, but it ultimately came up just short in an 81-79 loss to Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Four Illini players finished in double figures as Illinois fell to 16-7 overall and 7-5 in Big Ten play this season.
Matthew Mayer scored a team-high 21 points on 63.6% shooting in the defeat, finishing in double figures for the ninth time in his last 10 games. Mayer scored 15 of those points in the first half and knocked down a team-high four 3-pointers, the fourth time this year he has hit at least four triples. He also recorded five rebounds and four assists.
Jayden Epps registered 14 of his 16 points in the second half, including a stretch in which he accounted for 12 straight Illini points. Epps' scoring mark is his highest in conference play this season, and he also added two rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Dain Dainja notched 17 points, his highest mark since Jan. 13. Dainja scored 11 points in the second half, and he was a big reason why – offensively and defensively – the Illini outscored the Hawkeyes, 36-24, in the paint. Dainja also grabbed nine rebounds and made one block.
Terrence Shannon Jr. recorded 11 points, his 19th game with double-digit points this season. Shannon also snagged two rebounds, two steals, and dished out one assist.
Coleman Hawkins contributed in every facet of the game, finishing with six points, nine rebounds, one assist, and a team-high three blocks. Hawkins' six offensive rebounds marked a team-best and new season-high.
Ty Rodgers scored six points and made all three of his shot attempts after coming off the bench. Rodgers also registered six rebounds and grabbed two steals for the second straight game.
Illinois returns to Champaign next week for a two-game homestand, with the Illini playing host to Minnesota (7-14, 1-10) on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. CT.
HIGHLIGHTS
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
- The Illini have had back-to-back games with at least four players scoring in double digits.
- Illinois out-rebounded Iowa 37-26, including a 13-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
- The Illini scored 17 second-chance points.
- Two players had nine rebounds and four had at least five.
- The Illini held a 36-24 advantage in points in the paint.
- Illinois scored 10 points off of seven Iowa turnovers.
PLAYER NOTES
- Matthew Mayer scored a team-high 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting, knocking down four 3-pointers.
- Also added five rebounds and four assists.
- Scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half on 6-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-4 from behind the arc, to lead all scorers.
- Four-straight double-digit scoring efforts and three-straight with at least 16.
- Has made at least three 3-pointers in three-straight games and at least two in four-straight.
- Freshman Jayden Epps scored 16 points and tallied five assists.
- Has scored in double-digits in four-straight games since being inserted into the starting lineup.
- Scored 12-straight points for the Illini in the second half during a stretch lasting nearly six minutes.
- Dain Dainja scored 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting and secured nine rebounds.
- First game with at least 10 points since Jan. 16 at Minnesota.
- Has at least eight rebounds in three of his last five games.
- Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 11 points.
- Freshman Ty Rodgers scored six points and secured six boards off of the bench.
- Has grabbed at least six rebounds in three of his last four games, all coming off of the bench.
- Coleman Hawkins scored six points and added nine rebounds.
- Has four-straight games with eight or more rebounds.
