CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Brandon Paul scored 17 points, Tracy Adams added 13 and No. 10 Illinois pulled away late to remain unbeaten with a 66-53 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Sunday night.
In a game between undefeated teams, the Illini led by 11 early but needed a late 12-2 run to gain control and help John Groce become only the second coach in Illinois history to win his first 12 games. Groce matched the school record for the best start by a first-year coach set by Fletcher Lane in 1907.
Joseph Bertrand chipped in with 11 points for Illinois.
Corey Walden scored 21 points and Glenn Cosey had 11 for the Colonels (9-1), who came in riding the school’s best start in 66 years. Eastern Kentucky hadn’t won nine straight games since the 1964- 65 season.
Illinois stretched its regular season, non-conference winning streak at home to 34 games.
No. 24 Oklahoma St. 91, Cent.
Arkansas 63
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Le’Bryan Nash scored 19 points, Markel Brown had 14 points and eight rebounds and Oklahoma State overcame a slow start to beat Central Arkansas.
The Cowboys (8-1) fell behind by 11 in the first 8 minutes, but responded with 13 straight points to take the lead for good.
Phil Forte had 12 points, and Michael Cobbins and Marcus Smart each scored 10 for Oklahoma State.
Jordan Harks tied a career high with 16 points and Jarvis Garner had 14 for the Bears (4-4).
The Cowboys racked up a 53- 35 rebounding advantage, outscored the Bears 44-26 in the paint and led by at least nine throughout the second half.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less