Terrence Shannon Jr. came alive in overtime, scoring 12 points after struggling in regulation, as No. 17 Illinois ruled the end game in an 85-78 comeback win over No. 2 Texas on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic in New York City.

A pair of free throws by Jayden Epps with 8 seconds remaining tied the game at 68 and capped a 10-point comeback for the Illini (7-2). Texas’ Marcus Carr missed a contested jumper in the lane at the buzzer that sent the game into overtime.

Shannon, who entered the game with a 19.8-ppg average, scored only four points over the first 40 minutes but hit a jumper, a 3-pointer and a three-point play in the first 2:44 of the extra period to stake Illinois to a seven-point lead.

After Texas cut the Illini’s advantage to 77-76 on three free throws by Carr with 1:28 remaining, Epps scored on a layup with 1:06 left and RJ Melendez hit two free throws with 45 seconds to play to go up 81-76 and the Illini did enough to hold off Texas down the stretch.

Matthew Mayer led the Illini with a season-high 21 points on 8 of 10 shooting while Shannon had 16, all after halftime, and Epps scored 11 for Illinois.

Timmy Allen led Texas (6-1) with a season-high 21 points, with Tyrese Hunter scoring 10 for the Longhorns.

Texas tied the game at 28 on a dunk by Hunter off an assist by Allen and retook the lead on a 3-pointer by Arterio Morris with 4:23 remaining in the first half. The Illini scored nine of the next 10 points to build a five-point lead before a jumper by Hunter allowed the Longhorns to cut the lead to 37-34 at the break.

Mayer led all scorers with 15 points before halftime as Illinois outshot the Longhorns 48.1 percent to 35.5 percent over the first 20 minutes.

Allen led Texas with 11 points while Hunter added 10 in the half. Texas forged a 22-14 edge on the glass and forced 11 Illini turnovers that it converted into nine first-half points to help overcome its poor shooting.

–Field Level Media