Illini fall to Penn State in second round of Big Ten Tournament
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) — Andrew Funk hit five of his six 3-pointers and scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half as Penn State defeated Illinois 79-76 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.
Camren Wynter scored 18 points and Seth Lundy had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions (20-12), who will take on second-seeded Northwestern in Friday's quarterfinals.
Jalen Pickett, who came in averaging 18 points per game and scored a combined 61 points in two regular-season wins over the seventh-seeded Fighting Illini, had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 19 points, Coleman Hawkins 17 and Dain Dainja 13 for Illinois (20-12).
Trailing by one with eight minutes remaining, Penn State went on a 14-3 run with six points each from Funk and Pickett to lead by 12 with just under two minutes left. The Lions went 7 of 10 at the line from there to hold off the Illini, who made a 3-pointer as time ran out.
Lundy and Wynter combined for 21 points as Penn State built a 27-17 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. But the Nittany Lions finished the half with four turnovers and shooting 2 of 11. Hawkins scored six points in a 13-4 half-ending run to narrow the gap to 31-30.
Penn State has won six of its last seven games.
Following the loss, Illini Head Coach Brad Underwood said, "We haven't figured out what the sauce is to beat them."
He said it was frustrating for the Illini to shoot as well as they did in the second half and still lose.
