Will Riley scored 24 points and freshman Morez Johnson Jr. added 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as No. 18 Illinois overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat Ohio State 87-79 Sunday in Champaign, Ill.
Kylan Boswell had 14 points and Tomislav Ivisic added 12 points in his return from illness for the Illini (15-7, 7-5 Big Ten), who had lost four of six.
Devin Royal scored 19 of his 29 points in the first half and Bruce Thornton contributed 22 for the Buckeyes (13-9, 5-6), who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.
Ohio State extended a six-point halftime lead to its largest margin at 52-41 with 15:53 remaining on a 3-pointer from Thornton. The Illini rallied to tie it 56-56 on a Riley 3-pointer with 11:22 remaining. Riley scored 20 points in the second half.
The Illini finally took the lead at 70-68 with 6:04 left on a layup and free throw by Boswell. That was part a 15-0 run that made it 78-68 with 2:45 to play.
Ohio State got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
The Illini lost two of three without Ivisic, the 7-foot-1 sophomore center, who was out with mononucleosis, while making his presence felt early. Ohio State was up 14-13 when Ivisic nailed a 3-pointer from two steps back of the line. After the Buckeyes pulled ahead 19-16, he was fouled on a rattling dunk and hit the free throw to tie the game.
Royal led the Buckeyes to a 42-36 halftime lead by making 8 of 12 from the floor, including 3 of 5 triples for 19 points. Ohio State went 6 of 11 (54.5 percent) from 3-point range in the first half, while Illinois was 3 of 15 (20.0 percent) from deep.
The opening 20 minutes included six lead changes and three ties. An early Illini 10-0 run was followed by a like streak from the Buckeyes for a 29-23 lead.
Illinois went on another 10-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Boswell for a 35-34 advantage, before Ohio State ended the half with an 8-1 stretch.
— Field Level Media
