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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Illinois 60, Penn St. 58
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 31, 2015
Where: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
Officials: # Glenn Mayborg, # Robert Riley, # Earl Walton
Attendance: 14597

Illinois 60, Penn State 58: Malcolm Hill scored 27 points and scored the go-ahead basket with 4.5 seconds remaining as the host Fighting Illini held off the Nittany Lions.

Hill shot 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 10-of-15 overall for Illinois (14-8, 4-5 Big Ten), scoring on a drive to basket on the Fighting Illini’s final possession to fall one point shy of his career high. Kendrick Nunn added 10 points and five steals and Ahmad Starks went 3-of-4 from 3-point range as Illinois shot 8-of-15 from beyond the arc.

D.J. Newbill, tops in the Big Ten and fourth nationally in scoring at 21.5 points, finished with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting (3-of-6 from 3-point range) for Penn State (14-8, 2-7). Shep Garner added 14 points and Julian Moore scored 10 points but the Nittany Lions could not overcome 19 turnovers as Newbill’s driving layup rolled out at the buzzer.

Illinois led 56-53 on Hill’s basket with 7:05 to play, but the Fighting Illini went 6:12 without scoring – missing nine shots in a row – and two Garner free throws with 3:31 remaining pushed the Nittany Lions ahead 57-56. Nnanna Egwu’s turnaround basket with 58 seconds left ended the drought and tied the game at 58, but Hill drove the left side of the lane and converted the game-winning basket.

Hill hit two 3-pointers in the opening five minutes as Illinois built a 13-5 advantage and finished the first half with 13 points as the Fighting Illini carried a 30-26 lead into halftime. Hill and Newbill each hit a pair of 3-pointers in a 90-second span early in the second half, and Hill’s fifth 3 of the game evened the score at 48 midway through the period.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Illinois coach John Groce announced that injured guards Rayvonte Rice (broken hand) and Aaron Cosby (eye surgery) have been suspended indefinitely due to an unspecified violation of team rules. … Hill has scored in double figures 10 times in the past 11 games. … Newbill moved past DeRon Hayes (1,570 points) and Jamelle Cornley (1,579) into fifth place on Penn State’s all-time scoring list.
Top Game Performances
 
Penn St.   Illinois
D.J. Newbill 20 Scoring Malcolm Hill 27
Geno Thorpe 3 Assists Jaylon Tate 5
Jordan Dickerson 6 Rebounds Leron Black 7
D.J. Newbill 5 Free Throws Made Kendrick Nunn 5
Donovon Jack 2 Steals Kendrick Nunn 5
Jordan Dickerson 3 Blocks Maverick Morgan 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Penn St. 58 42.2 4-16 16-19 4 31 3 5 19
Illinois 60 37.7 8-15 12-17 13 22 2 12 13