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Ekey’s 3 lifts Illinois over No. 24 Iowa 66-63

Sports

March 9th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Jon Ekey hit a 3-pointer in the final second to lift Illinois to a 66-63 victory at Number 24 Iowa Saturday night. Rayvonte Rice scored 15 points to lead the Illini (18-13, 6-12 Big Ten), who notched consecutive road wins against ranked opponents for the first time since 2005. Iowa’s Roy Devyn Marble — the Big Ten’s leading scorer — was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. The Hawkeyes (20-11, 9-9) have lost five of their last six games.

Ekey’s 30-foot game-winner left only a half-second on the game clock. An Iowa foul with 13.8 seconds left had reset the shot clock and gave Illinois the final shot. Ekey hit another big 3-pointer with 3:03 left to give the Illini a 63-59 lead. A layup by Marble and Gabe Olaseni’s putback with 41 seconds left tied the game at 63.

Illinois’ Nnanna Egw scored 14 points. Aaron White led Iowa with 12 points.