>>Penn State Drops Illinois
Shep Garner scored 16 points and Tony Carr had 15 points to lead Penn State to a 74-52 victory over Illinois on Sunday night.
Illinois missed its first nine second-half shots and didn't score for seven-plus minutes as Penn State went on a 12-0 run to make it 49-36. The Nittany Lions (18-9, 8-6 Big Ten) led by at least nine points the rest of the way.
Carr hit three 3-pointers, grabbed six rebounds and had six assists. Lamar Stevens finished with 11 points, while Mike Watkins and Josh Reaves scored 10 apiece, for Penn State.
Illinois had the lead for more than 15 minutes in the first half, but squandered it late. Carr air balled a 3-pointer from the right wing, but Jamari Wheeler grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Garner, who nailed a corner 3.
On the ensuing play, Mark Alstork stepped on the baseline while inbounding the ball, giving Penn State possession with 3.6 seconds left. Carr scored a layup before the buzzer to take a one-point lead into the break.
The Nittany Lions shot 54.5 percent from the field, outscored Illinois 34-12 in the paint and won their fourth consecutive game against the Illini. Penn State has won six of its last seven overall.
Leron Black led Illinois (12-14, 2-11) with 18 points.
The Illini will face Indiana on the Wednesday night. Illinois knocked off the Hoosiers on Jan. 24 for its first Big Ten victory of the season.
>>Valpraiso Takes Care of Short-Handed Illinois State
Bakari Evelyn scored 22 points with four 3-pointers, Max Joseph had 10 of his 12 points in the second half and Valparaiso beat short-handed Illinois State 74-58 on Sunday.
Valpo had a 51-49 lead before breaking the game open with a 19-5 run for a 70-54 lead with 2:30 to go. Evelyn made three 3-pointers during the spurt and Markus Golder added five points.
Golder finished with 16 points and Tevonn Walker had 14 points, six rebounds five assists and three steals for Valparaiso (14-14, 5-10 Missouri Valley Conference).
William Tinsley led Illinois State (14-13, 8-7) with 13 points. Milik Yarbrough, averaging 16.4, was held to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting, but he also had 10 rebounds and five assists. Keyshawn Evans, averaging 15.6 points, and Phil Fayne (15.5) were both out with injuries for the Redbirds.
>>Southern Illinois Beats Bradley, Takes Over Second in MVC
Kavion Pippen scored 21 points with eight rebounds and four blocks and Southern Illinois defeated Bradley 74-57 on Sunday to take over sole possession of second place in the Missouri Valley Conference.
SIU (17-10, 9-5) is two games back of Loyola-Chicago (11-3), and a game ahead of 8-6 Illinois State and Drake. The Salukis have won six of their last seven. Bradley (17-10, 7-7) has lost three straight.
Aaron Cook made all three of his 3-point attempts and scored 12 points, and Sean Lloyd also scored 12 for the Salukis, who shot 56.5 percent and made 8 of 14 3-point tries. Marcus Bradley had eight assists.
Jayden Hodgson led Bradley with 12 points.
Cook gave the Salukis the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 17 minutes remaining that began a 16-4 run. Bradley was within seven with six minutes left before being outscored 12-2 the rest of the way.
