Austin Peay Governors vs Illinois Fighting Illini Match Player Stats On Dec 06, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 6, 2017

Michael Finke scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Illinois fended off pesky Austin Peay 64-57 on Wednesday night at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

Leron Black added 16 points for the Fighting Illini, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Austin Peay (4-5) led the game for 21:55, but Illinois (7-3) held on in a contest that featured seven lead changes. The Illini used a 9-0 run late in the second half to pull away.

Governors forward Averyl Ugba scored 15 points and guard Terry Taylor contributed 13 points and seven rebounds. Taylor missed a potential game-tying three with 45 seconds remaining.

Illinois won thanks to a 23-12 edge in points off turnovers. The Illini shot 39.6 percent from the floor to the Governors' 41.4 percent. Both teams finished with 15.4 percent shooting from 3-point range, 2 of 13.

Illinois' Aaron Jordan, who entered the game as the nation's leading 3-point shooter at 65.7 percent, missed both his attempts from beyond the arc and was held scoreless.

Austin Peay found itself in foul trouble with Tre' Ivory fouling out after scoring seven points. Two others, including Ogba, collected four fouls for the Governors.

The Illini made 20 of 28 free throws while the Governors were just 7 of 13 at the foul line.

Illinois, off to an 0-2 start in Big Ten play, travels to Las Vegas on Saturday to face Nevada-Las Vegas. Austin Peay gets a 10-day break before playing Evansville on Dec. 16.