Illinois 62, Missouri 59: Rayvonte Rice capped a 19-point effort with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift the Fighting Illini to their second straight victory in the annual Bud Light Braggin' Rights game in St. Louis.
Rice went 7-for-15 from the floor and had team highs in rebounds (seven) and assists (three) and Ahmad Starks scored 13 points for Illinois (9-3). Malcolm Hill added 10 points and Kendrick Nunn had nine for the Illini.
Johnathan Williams III collected 15 points and eight rebounds to lead Missouri (5-6), which was 6-of-21 from 3-point range. Wes Clark added 11 points and Montaque Gill-Caesar and D'Angelo Allen had eight apiece for the Tigers.
Rice dished it to Nnanna Egwu for a two-handed slam that put the Illini ahead 59-57 with 1:55 remaining and grabbed an offensive rebound to keep Illinois' next possession alive, but the Illini couldn't extend the advantage. Clark hit a pull-up jumper from the foul line with 17.8 seconds left to tie it for the 10th time, but Rice rattled in a contested fallaway jumper from the top of the key at the buzzer.
Neither team led by more than five in a first half that saw three ties and four lead changes before Starks hit a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds to send the Illini to the break with a 32-30 advantage. Starks hit back-to-back buckets following a Hill jumper to give Illinois its largest lead at 42-36 with 12:48 left before Williams scored nine points during a 17-8 spurt to give Missouri its biggest advantage at 53-50.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Former St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell, who died Dec. 4 after a bout with cancer, was honored with a moment of silence before the game and a reserved seat at the press table at both schools' request. … Rice has scored in double figures in all 27 non-conference games he has played at Illinois. … Williams has led Missouri in scoring and rebounding in each of the past five games.
Illinois | Missouri | |
Rayvonte Rice 19 | Scoring | Johnathan Williams III 15 |
Rayvonte Rice 3 | Assists | Wes Clark 3 |
Aaron Cosby 7 | Rebounds | Johnathan Williams III 8 |
Malcolm Hill 4 | Free Throws Made | Wes Clark 2 |
Kendrick Nunn 2 | Steals | Montaque Gill-Caesar 2 |
Maverick Morgan 1 | Blocks | Jakeenan Gant 1 |