Illinois rallies from 24 down in the 2nd half but comes up short 76-71 at No. 5 Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Brandon Newman scored 19 points and Zach Edey added 17 as No. 5 Purdue held on to beat Illinois 76-71 on Sunday.

Braden Smith added 15 points for the Boilermakers (26-5, 15-5 Big Ten), who became the first team to win the conference title by three or more games since 2014.

Edey, who entered the game with 23 double-doubles, finished with six rebounds. He was slowed by playing just eight minutes in the fist half after picking up two fouls.

The Boilermakers led by 24 early in the second half before the Illini rallied. Matthew Mayer led the Illini (20-11, 11-9) with 16 points. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 13, Sencire Harris 11 and Luke Goode 10.

The Illini tied the game at 67 on a free throw by Mayer with 1:17 to go. Edey’s layup gave Purdue a 69-67 edge with 56 seconds to go. Illinois turned the ball over with 31 seconds left.

Purdue’s Fletcher Loyer sank two free throws to push the lead to 71-67 after an immediate foul. Mayer missed a 3-pointer and Newman hit two free throws to push the lead to 73-67 with 16 seconds left.

Goode hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 74-71 with 7 seconds left. Newman hit two free throws to seal it for Purdue with five seconds left.

Newman scored 15 points in the first half to help the Boilermakers to a 47-26 halftime lead.

The Boilermakers shot 62% in the first half but just 29% in the second half.

Illinois: The Illini had won three of four coming in but struggled with turnovers and outside shooting in the first half. However, they showed fight by climbing back from a 24-point deficit early in the second half to tie it late.

Purdue: After a stretch of four losses of six games, the Boilermakers have gotten some momentum by winning two in a row. They allowed the Illini back into the game with costly turnovers.

With victories over Wisconsin and Illinois, Purdue should remain in the top five heading into the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center.

Illinois: Awaiting its seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

Purdue: As the No. 1 seed, the Boilermakers will play Friday in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.