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Bradley Wins; Illinois, Illinois State Lose Wednesday

>>Minnesota Holds Off Illinois
 
Jordan Murphy had 17 points and 17 rebounds while Nate Mason added 17 points and 6 assists as Minnesota defeated Illinois 77-67 on Wednesday.
 
All five starters scored in double figures for Minnesota (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten). Amir Coffey had 16 points, Dupree McBrayer scored 12, and Reggie Lynch finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 7 blocked shots.
 
Leron Black led Illinois (10-6, 0-3) with 14 points, all in the second half, while Trent Frazier added 12. The Illini shot a season-low 35 percent from the floor, including a 1-for-19 stretch to open the game.
 
Murphy, the Big Ten's scoring and rebounding leader, had 11 boards by halftime as he extended the nation's longest double-double streak to 16 games.
 
Minnesota scored the game's first 11 points as the Illini missed their first 11 shots. The Gophers run eventually stretched to 17-2, capped by two long Mason passes that led to dunks by Murphy and Coffey.
 
Mason returned after missing Minnesota's last game recovering from a sprained ankle he suffered on Dec. 23 against Florida Atlantic. He didn't miss a beat, shooting 6-for-13 from the field and hitting three 3-pointers on the night.
 
Mark Alstork hit a 3-pointer with 7:38 to go in the first half, the only 3-pointer the Illini made out of 13 first-half attempts. They finally concentrated on working the ball inside in the latter stages of the half and Greg Eboigbodin scored eight points to help cut the halftime deficit to 39-26.
 
Illinois played much of the first half without Black, who picked up his second foul just three minutes into the game. The junior forward, who averages a team-high 14.8 points per game, ended the first half scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting in just five minutes.
 
Minnesota led by 15 when the Illini went on a 13-2 run midway in the second half to climb back into the game. The key play was a steal and 3-pointer by Frazier off a sloppy Minnesota inbounds pass.
 
The Gophers appeared to get some breathing room when Mason corralled a McBrayer airball in the corner and drained a 3-pointer to make it 68-60. But the Gophers missed three of four free throws before Lynch hit a short jumper and Mason found Murphy for a dunk to put it away.
 
The Illini opened Big Ten play in early December with a pair of overtime losses to Northwestern and Maryland and started a stretch of four road games in their next five by missing 18 of their first 19 shots.
 
Illinois is at Michigan on Saturday. 
 
>>Bradley Rallies Past Valpo
 
Donte Thomas scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Bradley beat Valparaiso 80-71 in Missouri Valley Conference action on Wednesday night.
Koch Bar and Nate Kennell added 14 points apiece for the Braves (12-4, 2-1). Darrell Brown had 12 points and seven assists and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye pulled down 14 rebounds in addition to his six points.
 
The teams were tied 33-all at intermission and Bradley pulled away on a 16-11 run early in the second half to lead 49-44 with 13:03 to play. The Braves led the rest of the way.
 
Valparaiso closed to 70-65 with 2:30 left but Thomas, Brown, Kennell and Jayden Hodgson combined to hit 8 of 8 from the line after that to help keep the Braves on top.
 
Tevonn Walker scored with 25 points and seven rebounds for the Crusaders (9-7, 0-3) who have lost four straight. Markus Golder added 11 points off the bench.
 
>>Drake Trounces ISU
 
Reed Timmer hit six 3-pointers and finished with 28 points and Nick McGlynn had his fourth double-double of the season to help Drake beat Illinois State 87-62 on Wednesday night for the Bulldogs' fourth win in a row.
McGlynn finished with 11 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and two blocks. De'Antae McMurray had 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Jalen Gibbs also scored 12 for Drake (9-7, 3-0 Missouri Valley).
 
McGlynn's dunk about seven minutes in made it 10-9 and the Bulldogs led the rest of the way. Drake scored 11 of the final 14 points, including seven by Timmer, to take a 40-26 lead into the break and Illinois State trailed by double figures throughout the second half.
 
Keyshawn Evans scored 13 points and Milik Yarbrough added 11 points, five rebounds, seven assists and two blocks for Illinois State (8-7, 2-1). The Redbirds tied their lowest scoring output of the season and had their four-game win streak snapped.
 
Drake hit 15 of 30 from 3-point range.

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