CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - D.J. Richardson started slow Thursday but finished with 18 points and hit a pair of key free throws late in Illinois' ugly 64-59 win over Penn State.
The win was the fifth straight for Illinois (20-8, 7-7 Big Ten). But facing a team that hadn't won since late December, it didn't come easy.
Jermaine Marshall's 3-pointer brought Penn State within 62-59 with 5 seconds left. Richardson then sank a pair of free throws that sealed the win.
Illinois led 29-20 at the end of a brutal first half.
The Illini's Brandon Paul entered the game a point shy of 1,500 in his career. It took him almost 17 minutes to get it. He finished with 16.
Penn State (8-18, 0-14) has lost 14 straight. The Nittany Lions committed 31 fouls and sent the Illini to the line 36 times. They made 23.
Jermaine Marshall led Penn State with 20 points.
| Scoreboard | |||
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
| Penn State (8-18) | 20 | 39 | 59 |
| Illinois (20-8) « | 29 | 35 | 64 |
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| Penn State Nittany Lions | |||||||
| STARTERS | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| R. Travis, F | 35 | 2-8 | 0-0 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| S. Borovnjak, F | 31 | 7-10 | 3-6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 17 |
| D. Newbill, G | 39 | 4-14 | 2-5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 12 |
| J. Marshall, G | 36 | 6-11 | 4-4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| N. Colella, G | 28 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| BENCH | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| B. Taylor | 16 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| J. Graham | 9 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| K. Montminy | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| A. Wisniewski | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| A. Maduegbunam | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 21-48 | 9-16 | 34 | 11 | 31 | 59 | |
| 43.8% | 56.3% | ||||||
| Illinois Fighting Illini | |||||||
| STARTERS | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| S. McLaurin, F | 28 | 1-3 | 4-7 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| N. Egwu, C | 25 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| D. Richardson, G | 37 | 4-11 | 8-9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
| B. Paul, G | 33 | 5-13 | 3-8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| J. Bertrand, G | 24 | 2-4 | 1-2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| BENCH | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| T. Abrams | 26 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| T. Griffey | 17 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| M. Henry | 10 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Totals | 17-43 | 23-36 | 25 | 8 | 21 | 64 | |
| 39.5% | 63.9% | ||||||
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