Kasparas Jakucionis seemed to be lining up a drive to the basket as he methodically dribbled through his legs on the right-wing, then suddenly the Lithuanian guard stepped back and lofted a 3-pointer. Purdue’s Caleb Furst had his hand squarely in Jakucionis’ face, but the 6-foot-10 forward couldn’t deter him from hitting the shot that broke a tie with 40 seconds left to put Illinois ahead for good as the Illini rallied past No. 18 Purdue 88-80 on Friday night.
Kasparas Jakučionis drills a stepback 3-pointer, helping Illinois defeat No. 18 Purdue
Jakucionis had been struggling to that point, having shot 2-for-9 before his clutch 3, but freshman Will Riley and junior Tre White stepped up. Riley had 22 points, while White added 20 and grabbed nine rebounds. Jakucionis did have a team-high seven assists.
He found Ben Humrichous for a 3-pointer that put Illinois up 67-66 with 7:39 remaining and White followed that with another triple to further the Illini’s lead. The Boilermakers answered with an 11-2 run, taking a 77-72 lead with 2:52 to go. White made a layup and then Humrichous hit another 3 and a free-throw, which tied the game, before Jakucionis found the bottom of the net.
Illinois (20-11, 12-8 Big Ten) finished the game on a 16-3 run to win its third in a row after losing three straight. Purdue (21-10, 13-7) had a chance to earn the final double-bye for the Big Ten Tournament next week, but was unable to hold onto its lead.
Forward Trey Kaufman-Renn scored six points from the 6:17-minute mark to the 2:18 mark as Purdue surged ahead. His 29 points, though, weren’t enough for the Boilermakers to pull out the victory. Kaufman-Renn scored 29 points for the second time in the last three games. He’s averaged 22.1 points over the last 10 games, and hit a floater from the free-throw line in the first half for his 1,000th career point.
Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn sinks floater to score his 1,000th career point
Guard Braden Smith had 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, falling just short of the second triple-double in team history.
Takeaways
Illinois: The Illini joined Gonzaga, Houston and San Diego State as the only teams in the country to have at least 20 regular-season wins in each of the last six years.
Purdue: Smith is among the favorites for Big Ten Player of the Year. Kaufman-Renn, the team’s leading scorer, also deserves consideration because he’s the Boilermakers’ only inside threat.
Key moment
Riley made a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to end a personal seven-point run and get Illinois within 42-40.
Key stat
The teams combined for 32 3-pointers in their previous game, with the Boilermakers making 18. But Purdue went inside against Illinois this time, outscoring the Illini 44-28 in the paint while going 5 of 18 from behind the arc. Illinois was 11 of 30 on 3s.
Up next
Both teams begin Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday.
Reporting by The Associated Press
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