Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois’ Big Second Half: Too Much for Ohio State
Even though sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. had an excellent game overall, Ohio State was unable to secure the victory as senior guard Terrence Shannon Jr. of the Fighting Illini led No. 14 Illinois to an 87-75 victory away in Columbus.
Throughout the first half, the Buckeyes and Fighting Illini traded leads eleven times, with Illinois leading by seven at the break.
In the first 13 minutes, Gayle and senior forward Jamison Battle teamed for a perfect 8-8 start, scoring 17 points.
The Fighting Illini’s 20 points in the paint were mostly fueled by Marcus Domask, an Illinois graduate guard, who answered with 11 of his own in the first quarter and continued to play aggressively the entire half.
Despite being behind, the Buckeyes played excellent defense; they had a habit of allowing easy transition baskets, but they didn’t allow any in the first half. After a few fast baskets, head coach Chris Holtmann attempted a 1-3-1 zone defense but quickly went back to man.
With remarkable efficiency, Gayle continued to attack in the second half, extending his tally of goals to 20. For the rookie guard, this was probably a major confidence booster, as he had shot the ball quite poorly in five of his previous seven games.
Battle finished with 21 points overall, but aside from these two, not much else was scored, save for the sporadic post baskets from sophomore forward Evan Mahaffey, who finished with 13.
However, in the second half, the Illini appeared to be too strong for the Buckeyes. After scoring just five points in the first half, Shannon scored eighteen in the second, providing support for sophomore guard Ty Rodgers, who scored nine points.
Shannon would appear on the other end and answer with a bucket each time Ohio State made a statement. In the second half, he scored two and a half and two 3-pointers to significantly change the Illini’s lead and propel them to victory.
With 23 points each, Shannon and Domask concluded the game.
Following a 25-point rout at the hands of Northwestern, Ohio State seemed to need a little more time to fight until the last buzzer.
The Buckeyes will play again on Friday in Iowa City, Iowa, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. FOX Sports 1 will stream the game starting at 7 p.m., featuring Fran McCaffrey and the Hawkeyes.
