Keaton Wagler poured in a career-high 46 points and his teammates drilled four consecutive 3-pointers down the stretch to rally No. 11 Illinois to an 88-82 Big Ten victory over No. 4 Purdue on Saturday afternoon in West Lafayette, Ind.
Wagler, a freshman guard, finished 13 of 17 from the field, an Illinois-record 9 of 11 from 3-point range and 11 of 13 at the line to set the Mackey Arena record for points by a visiting player. David Mirkovic added 12 points and eight rebounds as the Fighting Illini (17-3, 8-1 Big Ten) canned 18 of 38 3-point tries to earn their ninth win in a row and stay within one game of Nebraska in the conference race.
Braden Smith shrugged off a second-half high ankle sprain to produce 27 points and 12 assists for Purdue (17-3, 7-2), which lost its second straight game since reeling off a nine-game winning streak. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 12 points, and Omer Mayer contributed 11 off the bench.
Wagler opened the game’s scoring with a driving layup, but Purdue answered by drilling eight straight field-goal attempts and three free-throw tries as Smith orchestrated a shredding of Illinois’ man-to-man defense.
During this early run, the Big Ten’s all-time assists leader fed Kaufman-Renn for a jump hook in the lane, Gicarri Harris for a layup on an inbounds pass and Daniel Jacobsen for a vicious alley-oop slam.
Smith capped the spree by leaning into a defender and sinking a 6-footer in the lane to give Purdue a 20-16 lead at the 12:47 mark of the first half.
However, Wagler’s hot shooting helped Illinois hang close. He scored the Illini’s first 14 points, and when the freshman point guard drained his fifth 3-pointer of the half with 9:58 on the clock, he owned 19 points while pulling the Illini within 25-21.
Purdue led by as much as 11 in the first half, but Wagler flushed a 25-footer with 3 seconds left to pull Illinois within 43-39 at the break. Wagler finished with 24 at the break, while Smith answered with eight points and seven assists.
Wagler opened the second half by drilling a 3-pointer and rimming home a 15-foot turnaround to give Illinois its first lead since 2-0. When Jake Davis added a putback, the Illini went up 46-43 and forced Purdue to call a timeout.
With 14:37 to play and Purdue up 51-49, Smith missed a floater in traffic and landed on teammate Oscar Cluff’s foot. Smith went to the ground in agony, clutching his left ankle. Moments later, Kaufman-Renn left with his third foul.
But after Wagler converted a 4-point play, Smith tightened his shoelaces and returned to the game — inspiring Wagler and Smith to lead their squads on a slew of lead changes.
When Wagler swished a 3-pointer with 9:17 to go, he gave Illinois a 63-61 edge and moved up to 40 points — breaking the visiting scoring record at 54-year-old Mackey Arena. Smith responded with back-to-back baskets for the 10th lead change in less than six minutes.
With the score 68-68 and five minutes to play, Smith pulled up for a 3-pointer and then cashed a 15-foot fadeaway while balancing on his injured leg to give Purdue a 5-point lead.
Davis and Mirkovic swished back-to-back 3-pointers from opposite corners to give Illinois a 79-75 edge with 1:46 to play. After Kaufman-Renn responded with a push shot in the lane, Tomislav Ivisic drilled a 3-pointer to make it 82-77 with 57 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
