No. 16 Illinois takes charge early, holds off No. 19 Iowa

Keaton Wagler scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half as No. 16 Illinois held off a furious rally to secure a 75-69 Big Ten win over No. 19 Iowa on Sunday afternoon in Iowa City, Iowa.

Andrej Stojakovic and Kylan Boswell added 17 points apiece as the Illini (13-3, 4-1 Big Ten) never trailed and led by as much as 18 to hand Iowa its first home loss. David Mirkovic added seven points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Illinois.

Tavion Banks did not start for Iowa due to illness, but posted 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists to pace the Hawkeyes (12-4, 2-3). Tate Sage scored 13 points while Bennett Stirtz added 12 on 5-of-17 shooting with six assists.

Illinois broke to an 8-0 lead as Iowa missed its first four shots. When Mirkovic drove from the wing for an unimpeded layup that gave the Illini a 12-5 lead at the 14:19 mark, irked Iowa coach Ben McCollum called a timeout.

The break didn't help the hosts as Wagler drained a 25-footer and Boswell swiped a pass for a breakaway layup. Stojakovic split a pair of free throws, then drove into the lane for a 3-point play that pushed Illinois' run to 13-0 and its lead to 21-5 with 11:47 remaining in the half.

Ilinois led 35-24 at halftime.

Both teams cranked up their 3-point accuracy in the second half. During a 61-second stretch, Alvaro Folgueiras and Isaia Howard made 3-pointers from the same point on the right wing, but 7-foot-2 Zvominir Ivisic answered from each corner to keep Illinois ahead 53-41.

Stirtz picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench took a seat with 11:36 to go -- but the John Wooden Midseason Watch List honoree's departure galvanized the Hawkeyes.

Boswell drilled a 3-pointer to push Illinois' lead to 17 before Iowa went on an 18-7 spree for the rest of its seven minutes without Stirtz. Cooper Koch made back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup on a fast break. When Banks and Sage hammered home back-to-back dunks, Iowa pulled within 62-57 with 6:34 to go.

Illinois led 71-65 with 55.9 seconds left when Iowa won an appeal that reversed a Sage foul. Sage sank both free throws and Iowa retained possession. The Hawkeyes missed three shots to get closer, including an unchallenged Stirtz layup attempt that rolled off the rim.

--Field Level Media