Perkins’ 32 powers Iowa past Illinois in thriller

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Tony Perkins scored 25 of his career-high 32 factors within the second half, and Iowa edged Illinois 81-79 on Saturday to snap a five-game shedding streak to the Preventing Illini.

Perkins shot 8 of 11 from the ground and missed simply considered one of 16 free-throw makes an attempt, all of them coming within the second half. Kris Murray added 19 factors and Filip Rebraca 13 for Iowa (15-8, 7-5 Massive Ten), which received its third straight and 7 of its final 9.

Matthew Mayer hit 4 3-pointers and scored 21 factors for Illinois (16-7, 7-5), which had a three-game win streak snapped after coming in having received seven of its final eight. Dain Dainja added 17 factors and 9 rebounds, Jayden Epps had 14 of his 16 within the second half and Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 11 factors.

Payton Sandfort’s 3-pointer snapped a tie, and Murray added a free throw with 29 seconds left. Illinois’ RJ Melendez sank two free throws earlier than Perkins, with 10.1 remaining, made it a three-point edge with a free throw earlier than his solely miss from the road.

Illinois raced down the ground, however Epps was quick on a 3-point try that Sandfort closed out on. Coleman Hawkins received the offensive rebound and was fouled with 1.1 left. He made the primary free throw earlier than his intentional miss on the second try was grabbed by Iowa’s Connor McCaffery.

Iowa completed 26 of 30 on the line to 18 of 23 for the Illini, who dedicated 14 turnovers. Iowa’s 81 factors hit the Hawkeyes’ season common in opposition to a crew giving up 63 a sport.

Murray hit a 3-pointer on the first-half buzzer, however the Illini led 36-35. Neither crew had a double-digit lead. There have been 9 lead modifications and 9 ties.

There was some controversy earlier than the sport between the Iowa officers and an Illinois fan group after the group’s buy of 200 tickets for Sunday’s matchup was canceled by Iowa’s athletic division.

Illinois hosts Minnesota on Tuesday. Iowa is at top-ranked Purdue on Thursday.

The Related Press contributed to this story.