By IlliniGuys Staff

January 5, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Illinois held All-American Zach Edey to 10 points and put together an amazing second half comeback, but came up short in an 83-78 loss to top ranked Purdue Friday night.

Illinois (11-3, 2-1) was playing its third straight game without its leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr.  The unanimous preseason All-Big Ten pick remains idle and away from the team after he was suspended following rape allegations in Kansas.

But they almost got it done without him.  Illinois trailed the entire game and were facing their biggest deficit at 66-45 with 11:53 left.  That's when Marcus Domask took over.

The Southern Illinois transfer continues to dominate.  After deliver a double-double against Fairleigh Dicksinson last Friday night and scoring 32 points in the rout of Northwestern, Domask scored 16 of his game high 26 in the final 12 minutes as Illinois closed within 81-75 with :51.3 left in the game.  After a stop, Coleman Hawkins drained a three on a fast-break to make it an 81-78 game.  But Braden Smith drained a pair of free throws to secure the win for Purdue.

Quincy Guerrier scored 18 points, Luke Goode 16, and Hawkins added 11 for the Illini.

For the first time, Illinois missed their leader as they started out cold from the field, misfiring 13 of their first 15 shots as Purdue (14-1, 3-1) built an early 20-4 lead.  But the Illini found their stride behind Coleman Hawkins and Quincy Guerrier, who combined for 10 points in a 17-4 run to close the gap to 24-21.

Edey sat out the final 8:03 of the first half with a pair of fouls, but Illinois failed to take advantage.  Purdue, which shoots 39 percent from the arc on the season, drained 7 of 10 from three point range in the first half to build a 47-32 halftime lead.

Edey added 15 rebounds to notch his 48th career double-double.  Trey Kaufman-Wren scored a season-high 23 points, Lance Jones added 17 and Smith finished with 14 for the Boilermakers.

Illinois returns to action next Thursday when Michigan State, winners of four straight, visits State Farm Center (8pm, FS1).

Stay with IlliniGuys.com for complete postgame coverage.