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.

The Illini (15-7, 7-5 Big Ten) celebrated the healthy return of center Tomislav Ivisic (mono) by outrebounding Ohio State 43-31 and hammering the Buckeyes (13-9, 5-6) inside – especially in the second half. Illinois outscored the visitors 52-30 in the paint.

Will Riley scored 24 points and freshman Morez Johnson Jr. added 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as No. 18 Illinois overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat Ohio State 87-79 Sunday in Champaign,

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.

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.