Illinois Fighting Illini at Iowa Hawkeyes

Jon Ekey's 3-pointer in last second lifts Illinois over Iowa

His patience was paid off.

Ekey hit a deep, contested 3-pointer in the final second to lift Illinois to a 66-63 victory over No. 24 Iowa on Saturday night.

"It felt good," Ekey said of the release. "They switched it. They guarded it well."

Rayvonte Rice scored 15 points to lead the Illini (18-13, 7-11 Big Ten), who notched consecutive road wins against ranked opponents for the first time since 2005.

A foul on Iowa's Mike Gesell with 13.8 seconds remaining reset the shot clock and gave Illinois the final shot.

On the final play, Illinois' Tracy Abram dribbled down the final seconds at top of the key. Abram first looked to Rice, but when he was covered the ball kicked out to Ekey.

Ekey drained the 30-foot game-winner over the outstretched arm of 6-foot-9 Aaron White with a half-second on the game clock. Iowa's desperation heave from the baseline was picked off.

"We're playing the best we've played all year on both ends," Illinois coach John Groce said. "You want to have momentum and you want to be playing well."

Ekey, who finished with 12 points, hit another big 3-pointer with 3:03 left to give the Illini a 63-59 lead.

The Hawkeyes misfired on their next few trips. Gesell missed a 3-pointer, Adam Woodbury threw away the ball and White mishandled a pass.

Illinois split the season series with Iowa despite 13 turnovers that led to 23 points for the Hawkeyes. The Illini were coming off a home loss to No. 12 Michigan on Tuesday, but had beaten then No. 18 Michigan State in East Lansing on March 1.

Iowa is 15-4 this season when making at least five 3-pointers.

Illinois snapped the Hawkeyes' 30-game home winning streak against unranked opponents.

"I think we're a little bit fragile," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "I think that's safe to say."

Illinois trailed most of the second half before Joseph Bertrand's jumper gave the Illini a 55-54 lead with 8:37 left.

The Hawkeyes tied it up twice after that, but never regained the lead.

Illinois' Nnanna Egwu had 14 points and six rebounds.

White led Iowa with 12 points and eight rebounds, and Woodbury added 11 points.

Iowa dug out of an early deficit with a 17-1 run in the first half.

Illinois opened the game with a 20-6 lead after scoring on eight of its first 10 possessions against the Hawkeyes' zone. Then McCaffery shifted to a smaller, quicker lineup and the Hawkeyes turned up the defensive intensity with tight man-to-man pressure.

Illinois went nearly eight minutes without a field goal as Iowa took a 23-21 lead.

"That was as good as defense as we've played," McCaffery said. "But that was the only good defense we played."

Almost all of that first-half spurt came without Marble, who picked up an early second foul and played only nine minutes in the first half.

The Hawkeyes honored seniors Marble, Melsahn Basabe, Zach McCabe and Darius Stokes on the floor before the game.

McCabe set a school record by playing in his 134th game.

How can I watch Illinois vs. Iowa?

• TV Channel: Illinois at Iowa 2021 College Basketball, week 18, is broadcasted on BTN.
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