IOWA CITY, Iowa — Tony Perkins scored a a career-high 32 points to help the Iowa Hawkeyes edge the Illinois 81-79 on Saturday and snap a five-game losing streak to the Fighting Illini.
Perkins — who scored 25 in the second half — shot 8 of 11 from the floor and went 15 of 16 on free-throw attempts. Teammates Kris Murray scored 19 points and Filip Rebraca chipped in with 13, as Iowa (15-8, 7-5 Big Ten) has now won seven of its last nine.
Illinois (16-7, 7-5) was lead by Matthew Mayer, who hit four 3-pointers for a team-high 21 points. Dain Dainja added 17 points and nine rebounds, Jayden Epps scored 14 of his 16 in the second half and Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 11 points.
Murray hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the Illini still held a 36-35 at the break. Neither team had a double-digit lead, but there were nine lead changes and nine ties throughout the game.
Payton Sandfort's buried a 3-pointer break the tie, and Murray added a free throw with 29 seconds left.
Illinois' RJ Melendez sank two shots from the charity stripe to cut the lead back down to two.
But with 10.1 remaining, Perkins made a free throw to make it a three-point game, but would miss the second attempt.
Illinois raced down the floor for a desperation shot, but Epps' attempt was short on a 3-pointer.
Coleman Hawkins got the offensive rebound and was fouled with 1.1 left. He converted the first free throw before his intentional miss on the second attempt was grabbed by Iowa's Connor McCaffery and the clock ran out..
There was some controversy earlier in the week leading up to the game between Iowa officials and an Illinois fan group after the group attempted to purchase 200 tickets for Sunday's matchup under the disguise of a non-profit. The order was canceled by Iowa's athletic department and the tickets were donated to a local organization.
Illinois hosts Minnesota on Tuesday. Iowa visits top-ranked Purdue on Thursday.
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