Desmond Claude scored a season-high 31 points to lead USC to an 82-72 win over No. 13 Illinois on Saturday in Champaign.

Wesley Yates III had 15 points — shooting 7 of 8 from the field — while Rashaun Agee had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Trojans (10-6, 2-3 Big Ten).

Illinois (12-4, 4-2) had a five-game winning streak snapped. Ben Humrichous had 15 points, while Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Tre White each scored 11.

Kasparas Jakucionis, the Illini’s leading scorer, missed his second straight game because of a forearm injury suffered Jan. 5 against Washington.

Takeaways

Illinois: The Illini have gotten off to a slow start in each game without Jakucionis. They trailed Penn State by six points early Wednesday before winning 91-52. They were down by nine points early to USC and never did get their offense going without their scoring and assist leader. They were 7 of 32 on 3-pointers.

USC: The Trojans didn’t get to the free-throw line very often. They were 9 of 11 on foul shots to Illinois’ 19 of 21. But they shot 52% to Illinois’ 37% and outrebounded the Illini 37-34. Illinois came into the game averaging 45.9 rebounds per game, best in the nation.

Key moment

The game was tied at 57 with 8:46 left. USC went on a 13-3 run to move in front 70-60 with 5:12 to go and Illinois didn’t threaten after that.

Key stat

Claude shot 12 for 20 from the field and made all seven of his free throws. Agee also was a shooting star. The graduate student sank three triples after making two all season and six in his career.

Up next

Southern California hosts Iowa on Tuesday night.

Illinois visits Indiana on Tuesday night.

Saint Joseph’s 93, Loyola 57

Xzayvier Brown scored 20 points as Saint Joseph’s rolled to a 93-57 victory over Loyola on Saturday in Philadelphia.

Brown went 8 of 16 from the field (3 for 6 from 3-point range) for the Hawks (11-6, 3-2 Atlantic 10 Conference). Derek Simpson added 19 points and six rebounds. Erik Reynolds II hit four 3-pointers and scored 18.

The Ramblers (10-6, 1-2) were led by Sheldon Edwards with 12 points. Jayden Dawson added 12 points and Miles Rubin scored 10.

Saint Joseph’s took the lead with 19:12 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. Reynolds led the team in scoring with 15 points in the first half to help put them up 53-29 at the break.

Bradley 61, UIC 60

Zek Montgomery led Bradley with 15 points and Duke Deen scored the game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds remaining as the Braves knocked off host UIC 61-60 on Saturday.

Montgomery shot 5 for 10 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 5 from the free-throw line for the Braves (14-3, 5-1 Missouri Valley Conference). Deen scored 14 points and added three steals. Corey Thomas shot 2 of 2 from the field and 7 for 7 from the line to finish with 11 points.

Jordan Mason led the way for the Flames (11-6, 3-3) with 15 points and two steals. Ahmad Henderson II added 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals for UIC. Sasa Ciani also recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Both teams next play Wednesday. Bradley hosts Indiana State and UICsquares off against Murray State at home.

On Thursday night, Northern Illinois football coach Thomas Hammock was in Orlando, Fla., to support two players who are competing in Saturday’s Hula Bowl, a postseason game for NFL draft prospects. Still, Hammock watched the College Football Playoff semifinal that took place about 220 miles south in Miami Gardens.

Hammock usually doesn’t care who wins games not involving his team. But he was happy on Thursday when Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter made a 41-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining, clinching the Irish’s 27-24 victory over Penn State and securing a spot in the national title game on Jan. 20.

Four months ago, Northern Illinois’s Cade Haberman blocked Jeter’s 62-yard attempt as time expired, giving the Huskies an improbable 16-14 victory over Notre Dame, which was favored by four touchdowns. Since then, the Fighting Irish (14-1) have won 13 consecutive games, the longest streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision, while Northern Illinois continues to be mentioned as the only team to defeat Notre Dame this season.

“It definitely comes up a lot more outside of our building,” Hammock said in a telephone interview on Friday. “You get in the season and you play the game and you then move on to the next one, but I’m certainly excited about what Notre Dame has been able to do. Hopefully they can finish it off on January 20th.”

Hammock said NIU hung with the Irish because of its offensive and defensive lines and because it had no turnovers while intercepting Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard twice. The second pick came with 5:55 left and gave Northern Illinois the ball at the 50-yard line. Eleven plays later, Kanon Woodill connected on a 35-yard game-winning field goal. It was NIU’s first victory over a top-10 team and first win over a ranked team in 21 years.

“I told them all week, ‘We don’t need luck. We’ve just got to be our best,’” an emotional Hammock told NBC’s Zora Stephenson in a postgame interview. “They were their best today, and we were able to get it done.”

After the Notre Dame game, NIU lost two in a row and four of its next six. But the Huskies rebounded to win four of their last five games, including a 28-20 victory over Fresno State in the Potato Bowl two days before Christmas. NIU finished 8-5, the third time in the past four years they were above .500.

Over the past couple of months, as Hammock and his staff have recruited via the high school ranks and transfer portal, they have pointed to the Notre Dame game. Players have responded in kind, saying they heard about NIU thanks to that win.

“It helps us tremendously, just showing what we are capable of doing on a big stage, Hammock said. “I think that that makes a lot of young men excited about the opportunity to potentially come here, and now with the transfer portal and other ways that you can improve your roster, we have a great opportunity here to continue to get better and build for the future.”

This week, NIU announced it will be joining the Mountain West Conference for football-only starting in 2026. It is a major step up for the Huskies, who have played in the Mid-American Conference since 1997.

“That’s a huge positive for our program,” Hammock said. “I think the Mountain West obviously puts a big investment into football, and we wanted to be a part of that.”

As the season progressed and Notre Dame continued to win, Hammock couldn’t help but be aware of the streak. The Irish won their final 10 regular season games by an average of more than 30 points per game, but the loss to NIU lingered to some who questioned if Notre Dame was really among the nation’s best or benefited from a weak schedule. During the CFP, the No. 7 seed Irish have responded with consecutive victories over No. 10 seed Indiana, No. 2 seed Georgia and No. 6 seed Penn State.

“I really can say it’s a blessing that we lost to (NIU),” Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray told ESPN’s Molly McGrath after Thursday’s game. “It got us humbled and everything. But you see we’re up here right now because of that L.”

Said Hammock: “Normally, you are objective. But in this particular case, I certainly want to see Notre Dame have as much success as they want…They’ve gotten better as the season has went along. I think that speaks volumes to coach (Marcus) Freeman and to the leadership and to the players in that program of how they’ve been able to block out the noise, limit the distractions and play their best football each and every single week.”

On Jan. 20, Notre Dame plays one more game, facing No. 8 seed Ohio State (13-2) for the CFP championship in Atlanta. Hammond plans on remaining in Illinois instead of traveling for the game because he wants to be at NIU to help the high school players and transfers who joined the Huskies this semester. Still, he’ll be watching on television with keen interest.

“I’m certainly rooting for Notre Dame,” Hammock said. “I’m a Marcus Freeman fan. I love his humility, his leadership, everything that he’s done since I met him during that game. I wish him nothing but the best.”

CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois’ former top doctor has been fined by the state ethics commission.

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Dr. Ngozi Ezike lead the Illinois Department of Public Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. She later became president and CEO of Sinai Chicago, which has contracts with the department.

Since she took on the new role within a year of leaving IDPH, there was an ethics violation, according to the state ethic commission.

Dr. Ezike has agreed to pay a $150,000 dollar fine.

Dr. Ezike released the following statement Friday evening:

“As a public servant and physician, I have always been guided by integrity, ethics and justice, and I have dedicated my career to advancing health equity, particularly in underserved communities. I proudly accepted a position as President of Sinai Chicago, which shares my personal mission to improve public health outcomes of those most in need. I look forward to continuing our important work with my fellow caregivers, as well as partners in the communities and beyond, to help the people we serve live better, healthier lives.”