WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Four Illini scorers finished in double figures as No. 9 Illinois came up short on the road against No. 1 Purdue, 83-78, at Mackey Arena on Friday night.
After trailing by as many as 21, the Orange and Blue nearly fought all the way back, getting within three in the second half before falling against the top-ranked Boilermakers by five points away from home.
Luke Goode recorded a career-high 16 points in his return to his home state. Goode knocked down four 3-pointers, which matched the best mark of his career after he went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc in the second half. The Indiana native also made plays on the defensive end of the floor, snagging two steals, which equaled a career-best total he set earlier in the season.
Playing all 40 minutes, Marcus Domask surpassed the 20-point mark for the third time this season, scoring 20 second-half points en route to a team-high 26-point performance. Reaching double figures for his fifth straight game, Domask also finished with three rebounds, five assists, and one steal.
Quincy Guerrier ended his outing in double figures for the sixth consecutive game, registering 18 points. After going into halftime with nine points, the most for an Illini player in the opening frame, Guerrier tacked on nine points in the second half. He also amassed 10 rebounds, clinching his third straight double-double late in the final frame.
Coleman Hawkins accumulated 11 points, his sixth straight outing in double figures, while he added four rebounds and dished out a season-high six assists.
No. 9 Illinois (11-3, 2-1 B1G) returns to State Farm Center next week for a two-game homestand, which will begin with a matchup against Michigan State on Thursday. Tipoff on FS1 is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT in Champaign.
Highlights
Postgame Notes
Player Notes
- Marcus Domask scored a game-high 26 points and added three rebounds and five assists.
- Scored at least 26 points for the second-straight game and the third time overall this season.
- Has at least five assists in four-straight games.
- Went 9-for-10 at the free throw line for the second-straight game.
- Played all 40 minutes of tonight's contest.
- Quincy Guerrier scored 18 points and secured 10 rebounds.
- Recorded his third-straight double-double and his fifth overall of the season.
- Sixth-straight double-figure scoring performance and ninth such game this season.
- Has scored at least 14 points in every contest during that stretch.
- Grabbed at least seven rebounds for the fifth-straight game.
- Luke Goode scored a career-high 16 points.
- Went 4-for-8 from behind the arc.
- Career-high in makes from deep.
- Third double-digit scoring performance this season.
- Coleman Hawkins scored 11 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out a season-high six assists, blocked one shot and recorded one steal.
- Sixth-straight double-figure scoring performance.
- Has recorded at least one block in five-straight games.
- Has recorded at least one steal in eight-straight games.
Team Notes
- At least four different Illini scored in double-figures for the fifth-straight contest.
- All three of Illinois' losses this season have been by single-digits to teams currently ranked in the AP Top 10.
- The loss snaps a streak of five straight wins by the Illini in games in which both team's are ranked in the top 10.
- Illinois is now 3-21 overall when facing a team ranked No. 1.
Quotes
On Domask's leadership and impact:
"Marcus is a quiet leader. He's really funny when you get to know him. He's that guy in the locker room, but he is as hard a worker as we've had in this program. I have to kick him out of the gym. He leads by example. He does it every single day. He's cerebral, he's smart, and he's a great human being.
"He's gotten comfortable. I think we've done some things to help him. I'm not afraid to say it: He's one of the better players in the country. He's just a guy who can score on all three levels. He's strong. He's a lot of things for us, and that's what you do with really good players: keep instilling confidence and put him in situations to win games for you."
On Goode's career-high scoring performance:
"Luke's a really good player. He's one of the best shooters in the country. If he's not on the court, Marcus isn't near as successful as he is, and Coleman isn't nearly as successful as he is because he's a gravity guy. He draws defenders to him."
On how he feels after playing all 40 minutes against Purdue:
"I've been in roles similar to this before. I work with Fletch on my conditioning. I try to eat right. I just try to control the controllables so I can go out and play for my teammates."
On the trust he's established with his coaches and teammates:
"They just remind me that they trust me. They've put a lot of confidence in me and my teammates as well. My teammates want me to be aggressive. When your coaches and your teammates really want you to attack and try to create plays, you should have confidence in your ability."
On learning from the loss:
"Everyone has to communicate, get back, settle in, and just try to talk about it. We have to be more physical. When we play on the road, it's going to be a game of runs. We proved that. We were down 15, and then came back to a three-point game, and then they got four offensive rebounds and the game was back to 15 points. We have to do a better job."
On what he learned about the team's fight in the second half:
"We're a great team. Coach was proud of us. In the second half, especially, we were fighting. When we do our jobs, stay connected, and rebound, we're a really dangerous team. We all know that we've got a lot of scorers on the team. It's really just the defensive side of getting rebounds and making sure that we take care of that ball."
