Andrej Stojakovic scored 23 points and made the big defensive play Tuesday night as No. 14 Illinois held off No. 11 Texas Tech 81-77 in Champaign, Ill.
The son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic scored 13 points in the second half, but his biggest play came without the ball. He blocked Christian Anderson’s potential game-tying 3-pointer with nine seconds left.
Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler rebounded, drew a foul and made a free throw with 6.8 seconds remaining to seal the outcome. He ended the game with 11 points and seven rebounds as the Fighting Illini improved to 3-0.
Kylan Boswell added 22 points for Illinois, while David Mirkovic and Zvonimir Ivisic each chipped in 11. The Illini shot 49.2% from the field, earned a 34-30 advantage in rebounding and turned 13 Red Raiders turnovers into 29 points.
JT Toppin pumped in 24 of his game-high 35 points in the second half for Texas Tech (2-1) to go along with 11 rebounds but also committed six turnovers. LeJuan Watts added 21 points, but Anderson, who came in averaging 26 points and nine assists, was held to eight points, although he had 11 assists.
The Red Raiders were just 3-of-4 at the foul line, while Illinois made 16 of 23.
The main pregame storyline was how high scoring this matchup could get, since Texas Tech came into it averaging 98 points per game and Illinois entered after consecutive 113-point performances.
But the Illini defended well after the Red Raiders scored the first seven points. Illinois went on a 16-3 run that saw Boswell can a pair of 3-pointers and feed Mirkovic for one as well.
Toppin made a 3-pointer at the 9:30 mark to cut the Illinois lead to 24-23, but the Illini controlled the remainder of the half. In a preview of the final 10 minutes of the game, Stojakovic drove the lane and scored just before time expired, giving his team a 45-32 cushion at intermission.
–Field Level Media
