Clifford Omoruyi rang up 15 points and 13 rebounds, Ron Harper Jr. scored 16 points and host Rutgers took down its fourth consecutive ranked opponent Wednesday night, beating No. 12 Illinois 70-59 in Piscataway, N.J.
Rutgers (16-9, 10-5 Big Ten) held Illinois to 37.9 percent shooting (22 of 58), including 26.1 percent (6 of 23) from 3-point range. After defeating Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, the Scarlet Knights moved within a game of first place in the conference.
Omoruyi, the beneficiary of two highlight-reel alley-oops, posted his fifth double-double of the season despite being matched up down low with Illinois star Kofi Cockburn. Cockburn led all scorers with 20 points and added 10 rebounds.
Trent Frazier scored 11 and RJ Melendez scored all 10 of his points in the second half for Illinois (18-7, 11-4).
Illinois ripped off a 14-2 run in the late stages to cut its deficit to 11 and wouldn’t go away after Omoruyi scored a fast-break layup off Caleb McConnell’s steal. Geo Baker and Aundre Hyatt finally closed it out for Rutgers with free throws.
Paul Mulcahy had 13 points and McConnell scored 11 for Rutgers. Harper added eight rebounds, but he left with a team trainer with 2:34 to play while holding his finger in pain.
Rutgers used a 9-0 sprint to get out to a 17-7 in the early going, while Cockburn accounted for all seven of Illinois’ points. It became a 24-11 Rutgers advantage after just 11 minutes of play when Harper knocked down a 3.
Illinois fought its way back through the interior, scoring 20 first-half points in the paint. But the Fighting Illini missed their first 13 3-point tries before Frazier sank one with 35 seconds left to forge a 33-24 halftime margin.
Jacob Grandison made a triple on the Fighting Illini’s first possession of the second half to cut that deficit to six, but it didn’t spark the comeback they wanted. Soon Rutgers ran off 12 points while holding Illinois scoreless for 5:16.
Baker started that run with a stepback jumper, and after Cockburn missed two free throws, Baker fed Omoruyi for an alley-oop he dunked with two hands, his back to the rim. The center went on to score twice more in the post during the run.
The Scarlet Knights poured it on when Mulcahy, Harper and Dean Reiber made consecutive 3s. Caleb McConnell’s layup gave Rutgers its largest lead of the night, 60-37.
Rutgers dominated the glass 46-28.
–Field Level Media
