Kofi Cockburn leads No. 22 Illinois to 79-65 win over Penn State

Cockburn had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Illini.

SHARE Kofi Cockburn leads No. 22 Illinois to 79-65 win over Penn State
Illinois center Kofi Cockburn dunks against Penn State during the first half of Tuesday night’s game in Champaign.

Illinois center Kofi Cockburn dunks against Penn State during the first half of Tuesday night’s game in Champaign.

Holly Hart/AP

CHAMPAIGN — Kofi Cockburn had 21 points and 12 rebounds, leading No. 22 Illinois to a 79-65 victory over Penn State on Tuesday night.

Cockburn leads the nation with 11 double-doubles this season. Ayo Dosunmu and Trent Frazier scored 13 points apiece for Illinois (10-5, 6-3 Big Ten).

Myreon Jones scored 20 points and Seth Lundy added 13 for Penn State (3-6, 0-5).

Illinois charged to a 13-5 advantage and never relinquished the lead. The Illini led 42-28 at the break. Dosunmu scored just three points in the first half.

A scrum with two seconds left in the half resulted in technical fouls being called on Da’Monte Williams of Illinois and DJ Gordon of Penn State.

Illinois shot 46% from the field (26 for 57). Penn State was 21 of 62 (34%).

CALLED OUT

The Big Ten Conference on Tuesday reprimanded interim Penn State basketball coach Jim Ferry and fined the university $10,000 for comments Ferry made following a loss to Purdue.

Ferry was called out by the conference for his actions after the Nittany Lions lost to the Boilermakers 80-72 on Sunday.

BIG PICTURE

Illinois did what it had to do to prevent its third straight loss. One thing that helped was avoiding a slow start, which has plagued the team all season.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Illinois was expected to beat Penn State at home, and did easily. Look for the Illini to creep up a bit in the polls as a result.

UP NEXT

Penn State: Hosts Rutgers on Thursday.

Illinois: The Illini’s game at Michigan State, scheduled for Saturday, was canceled due to COVID-19 issues with the Spartans. Illinois doesn’t play again until it hosts No. 4 Iowa on Jan. 29.

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