Ohio State fifth-year guard Micah Parrish (8) dribbles the ball down the court during the game against Illinois Sunday. The Buckeyes fell to the Fighting Illini 87-79. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
Ohio State’s three-game winning streak came to a halt in Champaign, Illinois on Sunday.
Despite a dominant first-half performance from forward Devin Royal, Ohio State (13-9, 5-6 Big Ten) No. 18 Illinois (15-7, 7-5 Big Ten) stormed back in the second and handed the Buckeyes an 87-79 loss at the State Farm Center.
The Buckeyes came out firing, setting the tone early with a scoring flurry. After a putback layup from forward Aaron Bradshaw, Royal took control and scored on consecutive possessions at the rim before he canned a career-high three 3-pointers en route to 19 first-half points, leading all scorers.
Ohio State’s defensive intensity also had an early impact, forcing three turnovers in the opening minutes. Guard John Mobley Jr. capitalized on a made 3-pointer which gave the Buckeyes a 14-8 lead at the first media timeout.
But Illinois took back momentum on an and-1 from forward Morez Johnson Jr., which kick-started a 10-0 Illini run.
Bradshaw, who eclipsed two early fouls, didn’t return for the remainder of the half and with the absence of forward Sean Stewart, who was inactive due to injury, the Buckeyes found themselves thin down low.
Following a three from guard Bruce Thornton to put the Buckeyes back up three, Illinois answered with a 7-0 run, capped off by a dunk from Johnson who reaped the benefit of Ohio State’s lack of size. Johnson recorded a double-double in the first half and ended with a career-high 15 rebounds.
However, the Buckeyes responded with a commanding 15-2 run of their own while they held the Illini to zero field goals in nearly seven minutes of play to take a 34-25 with 5:08 left in the half.
Illinois finally ended its field goal drought with 4:55 to play as forward Ben Humrichous knocked down a three, which sparked another Illini 10-0 run.
The Buckeyes held Illinois to one point in the final 2:45 of the half, while Ohio State scored eight to give it a 42-36 lead heading into the break.
Ohio State continued to find success early in the second half.
Thornton canned a three off a lethal crossover to give the Buckeyes an 11-point lead.
But the Illini got the crowd back into it shortly after as they scored six straight and held the Buckeyes to zero field goals for nearly five minutes. A highlight-reel steal and slam from guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn gave Illinois its first lead since 23-19 and sent the home faithful into a frenzy.
Even as the Illini surged, Royal and Thornton didn’t go away as the duo scored the next nine points for Ohio State to help reclaim a four-point lead with 9:51 left.
Still, after Thornton scored his 13th point of the half to put the Buckeyes up five, the Illini went on their biggest run. This time it was an insurmountable 15-0 run that spanned over five minutes and put the game out of reach.
Eight out of the 15 points came in the paint, and the lack of depth at the big man spot proved pivotal down the stretch.
Eventually, guard Ques Glover ended the run with a layup with 2:28 remaining to cut the lead to eight, but the Illini held on.
Ohio State will return home to play Maryland Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FOX.
