Illinois basketball humiliated at Indiana; NU falls in OT

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell tried to stick to his normal routine Tuesday.

Those around him refused.

On a night No. 25 Indiana broke its own conference record for most 3-pointers in a Big Ten game and topped 100 points against a league foe for the first time in nearly four years, Ferrell was the center of attention.

The senior point guard scored 16 points, made five 3s and finished with nine assists to break Michael Lewis’ school record while leading the Hoosiers to a 103-69 rout over Illinois.

“They (teammates) want Yogi to succeed because they know that Yogi is going to find them,” coach Tom Crean said. “He sets the tone defensively, he sets the tone offensively.”

Especially in a game he didn’t want to be all about him.

The Hoosiers (16-3, 6-0) had four players score in double figures, buckled down defensively and made 19 of 36 3-point attempts, breaking their own game school record (18) set last year against Minnesota. It is tied for the most by any Division I team this season.

Troy Williams had a team-best 21 points and five assists and Max Bielfeldt finished with 16 points and eight rebounds as Indiana won its 11th straight.

But with so many wanting to celebrate Ferrell’s milestones, the spotlight would not go away.

The sellout crowd roared with approval when Ferrell delivered a nifty, no-look pass to Bielfeldt for a layup that gave Indiana a 19-11 lead with 11:19 left in the first half and Ferrell his 546th career assist, one more than Lewis.

Behind the bench, Ferrell’s father kept count flashing signs each time his son notched another assist. The end came at 553.

And when Crean pulled Ferrell for the final time, with 4:25 left, the coach grabbed his senior guard’s hand and raised it like Ferrell had just won the heavyweight champion.

“I didn’t know he was going to do that.” Ferrell said with a hearty laugh. “But that was pretty special.”

Illinois (9-10, 1-5) was led by Malcolm Hill with 20 points and Kendrick Nunn with 10.

But this one got away in a hurry.

Indiana closed out the first half on a 20-4 run to take a 42-25 lead and opened the second half by making five of its first six shots to seal it.

“I thought they were terrific offensively and did a great job,” Fighting Illini coach John Groce said. “I thought we helped them by having just poor offense in the first half. I thought we played too much hero ball.”

It led to the kind of ending everyone in Bloomington wanted Ferrell to have

“It was my chance to show him we wouldn’t be here without them,” Crean said of the late-game gesture. “I wanted to make sure the fans gave him just a little bit extra because he deserved it.”

No. 7 Maryland 62, Northwestern 56, OT

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Melo Trimble scored 18 points, Diamond Stone made a pivotal three-point play with 1:13 left in overtime and No. 7 Maryland squeezed past Northwestern 62-56 on Tuesday night.

The Terrapins (17-2, 6-1 Big Ten) shot 44 percent and were outrebounded 41-31 by the scrappy, hustling Wildcats (15-5, 3-4).

But Trimble came up big in overtime, opening the scoring with a three-point play and getting assists on two baskets, including the layup by Stone that put Maryland ahead 58-55.

Stone finished with 11 points and Robert Carter Jr. added 10. Despite struggling mightily in this one — giving up 16 offensive rebounds and collecting only four — the Terrapins swept the season series after beating the Wildcats 72-59 on Jan. 2.

Aaron Falzon scored 13 points for the Wildcats before fouling out with 3:36 left in overtime. Bryant McIntosh had 12 points on 5-for-18 shooting.

Thanks to its domination on the offensive glass, Northwestern took 17 more shots than Maryland and made two more baskets (23-21). But the Terrapins outscored the Wildcats 16-5 at the free throw line.

Northwestern opened the second half by missing six of seven shots from the field to fall behind 39-31.

Maryland then went 4 minutes without a point, and a runner in the lane by McIntosh made it 39-38. Minutes later, Tre Demps capped the 12-2 run with a jumper for a 45-43 lead with 7:41 remaining.

The Terrapins went ahead 48-47 on a 3-pointer by Jake Layman with 4:43 left — the final basket by either team until overtime.

Regulation ended with Trimble firing a shot that, appropriately, clanged off the rim.

Maryland trailed for the majority of the first half before using a late 10-0 run to take a 31-29 halftime lead.

Northwestern controlled the boards in the opening minutes and got eight points from Dererk Pardon in going up 16-9.

The Terrapins answered with an 8-2 run, but successive 3s by Scottie Lindsey and Falzon restored the seven-point cushion.

It was 27-21 before Maryland center Damonte Dodd scored on a follow and Jared Nickens added a three-point play. Trimble followed with a 3 to give Maryland its first lead.

Evansville 74, Loyola 66

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Egidijus Mockevicius scored 23 points, on 10-of-13 shooting, with 20 rebounds, and D.J. Balentine had 22 points and seven assists to help Evansville beat Loyola 74-66 Tuesday night.

It was Mockevicius’ second straight game — and fourth this season — with at least 20 rebounds. His 16 double-doubles this season are the third most in Division I.

Jaylon Brown added 11 points and Adam Wing scored 10 for Evansville, which has won 10 of its last 11.

The Purple Aces (17-3, 6-1 Missouri Valley Conference) led 35-27 at the break and scored the first eight points of the second half to push its lead to 16. A 3-point play by Brown gave Evansville its biggest lead, 60-41, with 7:42 left.

Loyola (8-11, 1-6) used a late, 12-2 run — including nine points by Donte Ingram — to pull within 72-66 with eight seconds left, but ran out of time.

Tyson Smith led the Ramblers with 15 points.

Northern Illinois 75, Central Michigan 70

DEKALB — Travon Baker scored 19 points including a pair of field goals and two free throws down the stretch and Northern Illinois held off Central Michigan 75-70 Tuesday night.

The win makes the best 18-game start for Northern Illinois (15-3, 4-1 Mid-American) since the 1990-91 season and, coupled with Ball State’s loss Tuesday to Kent State, lifts the Huskies to sole possession of first place in the MAC’s West Division.

Levi Bradley added 14 points for Northern Illinois and Marin Maric 12. The Huskies made 30 field goals and shot 48 percent to overcome 10 3-pointers by the Chippewas.

Chris Fowler led Central Michigan (9-9, 2-3) with 16 points and eight assists, Rayshawn Simmons added 14 points, Josh Kozinski 12 on four 3-pointers, and the Chippewas welcomed the return of Braylon Rayson, who added 11 points. Rayson, averaging a team-best 17.4 points per game, missed Saturday’s game to attend a family funeral.

Oklahoma State 86, No. 3 Kansas 67

STILLWATER, Okla. — Freshman Jawun Evans had 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds to help Oklahoma State upset No. 3 Kansas 86-67 on Tuesday night.

The Cowboys beat Kansas in Stillwater for the third straight time and the fifth in seven years.

Jeff Newberry scored 13 points and Jeffrey Carroll added 11 for the Cowboys, who had lost four straight. Oklahoma State shot 50 percent from the field, made 11 of 21 3-point attempts and outrebounded the Jayhawks 38-31.

Frank Mason III scored 14 points and Perry Ellis added 13 for Kansas (15-3, 4-2 Big 12), which has lost two of its past three and fell out of a tie for the Big 12 lead.

Oklahoma State made 23 of 26 free throws while Kansas made just 13 of 24.

The Cowboys (10-8, 2-4) nearly knocked off then-No. 2 Oklahoma six days earlier, but they missed a last-second shot and lost 74-72.