Will Riley scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half and No. 18 Illinois rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat Ohio State 87-79.

Coach Jake Diebler and the Ohio State men's hoops like they would extend their winning streak for much of the afternoon, but Illinois rallied late.

Devin Royal scored 29 points — 19 in the first half — for Ohio State (13-9, 5-6), which had a three-game winning streak snapped. Bruce Thornton had 22 points and John Mobley Jr. had 18 points. Ivisic, Illinois’ No. 2 scorer and leading rebounder, returned to action after missing three games with mononucleosis. He played 29 minutes.

If No. 18 Illinois was going to start turning its season back around, it was almost certainly going to need a hand from its freshmen. But with streaking Ohio State in Champaign on Sunday, Will Riley and Morez Johnson Jr.

The Illini were finally whole again, and they got back in the win column. Tomislav Ivisic’s return, a starting lineup shakeup and another big second half from Will Riley propelled Illinois past Ohio State,

Will Riley scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half and No. 18 Illinois rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat Ohio State 87-79 on Sunday.