Illinois rallies past No. 21 Northwestern behind Shannon

Fri, Feb 24, 2023
Other News (AP)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Terrence Shannon Jr. shook off a slow start in his return from a concussion, scoring 24 of his 26 points in the second half as Illinois rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to beat No. 21 Northwestern 66-62 on Thursday night.

Shannon did not start and found himself back on the bench with three fouls as Northwestern (20-8, 11-6 Big Ten) closed on a 13-2 run to take a 37-19 lead into halftime.

But he picked up steam after the break and scored 15 of the Illini's last 24 points as they erased a 14-point deficit in the final 10:07. His tiebreaking drive with 1:16 left put Illinois (19-9, 10-7) ahead 63-61, and he scored the team's last five points - including a pair of free throws that sealed it with two seconds to go.

Boo Buie led Northwestern with a career-high 35 points, hitting six 3-pointers and going 12 of 24 from the floor. The Wildcats had won five straight.

NO. 4 UCLA 78, UTAH 71

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and Tyger Campbell added 18 to lift UCLA over Utah.

Jaquez, who was UCLA's only effective offensive player in the second half, made a 3-pointer with 1:03 remaining to seal the win just moments after Campbell hit a 3 from the corner.

UCLA (24-4, 15-2 Pac-12) has won seven in a row despite giving up more than 70 points for just the fourth time this season.

Mike Saunders Jr. came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points for Utah (17-12, 10-8), which has lost three straight. The Utes played without starting guards Rollie Worster and Gabe Madsen, who are both injured.

NO. 12 GONZAGA 97, SAN DIEGO 72

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Drew Timme had 22 points and 13 rebounds to help Gonzaga beat San Diego for its fourth consecutive victory.

Timme needs to average 19.3 points over the next three games to break Gonzaga's career scoring record set by Frank Burgess in 1961.

The Zags (23-6, 13-2 West Coast Conference) dug out of an early six-point deficit with a 19-2 run. Ben Gregg added 18 points and Julian Strawther scored 17 for Gonzaga.

Jase Townsend had 15 points for the Toreros (11-18, 4-11), who have lost 15 straight to Gonzaga. USD has dropped four in a row overall and six of seven.

NO. 15 SAINT MARY'S 83, PACIFIC 52

MORAGA, Calif. (AP) - Logan Johnson scored 29 points in the final home game of his career and Saint Mary's clinched at least a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a victory over Pacific.

Alex Ducas added 17 points and Mitchell Saxen scored 11 for the Gaels (25-5, 14-1). Saint Mary's is assured no worse than a tie for first place in the conference for the first time since 2015-16 and can secure its first outright crown since 2011-12 by winning at No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday night.

The Gaels wrapped up their second straight perfect home season in conference play with a victory that gave them 25 wins for the 12th time in the last 16 seasons.

Jordan Ivy-Curry scored 11 points to lead the Tigers (13-17, 6-9), who have lost five of six.

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