WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. --Purdue figured out how to slow the pace - and still score a little, too, Wednesday night.Terone Johnson finished with a career-high 25 points and D.J. Byrd scored nine of his 15 during a key 19-3 second-half run, sending the Boilermakers past No. 11 Illinois 68-61.Byrd sealed the game with a three-point play with 20.1 seconds to go.The Boilermakers (7-6, 1-0 Big Ten) have won three straight and are over .500 for the first time this season. They have won eight straight over the Fighting Illini.Illinois (13-2, 0-1) was led by Brandon Paul with 15 points and Joseph Bertrand with 14, but managed only one basket during a decisive 5 12-minute stretch of the second half. Illinois has lost eight straight conference road games, dating to a Jan. 4, 2012 win at Northwestern.Complete RecapBox ScoreLoyola handles Valparaiso
VALPARAISO, Ind. --Ben Averkamp scored 16 points and had four blocked shots Wednesday night as Loyola of Chicago beat Valparaiso 63-54 in the Horizon League opener for both schools.Christian Thomas had 14 points and six rebounds, and Cully Payne had 13 points and seven assists for the Ramblers (10-3).Ryan Broekhoff led Valparaiso (10-5) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Van Wijk also had seven rebounds, and contributed 10 points. LaVonte Dority also scored 10 points for the Crusaders, going 8 for 8 from the free-throw line.Loyola led 26-24 at halftime. Broekhoff made a 3-pointer for Valparaiso early in the second half, but Thomas' layup with 18 12 minutes to go put the Ramblers ahead for good.Complete RecapBox Score
UIC edges Youngstown State
Gary Talton drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining and made three free throws to protect the lead as Illinois-Chicago defeated Youngstown State 65-60 on Wednesday night.Talton had 19 points and Hayden Humes 15 for the Flames (10-4, 1-0 Horizon League), who snapped a three-game losing streak.Kendrick Perry scored 19 points and Blake Allen had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Penguins (8-6, 0-1). Allen's 3-pointer gave Youngstown State a 60-59 lead with 1:31 remaining.Josh Crittle scored 14 points and Daniel Barnes 10 for Illinois-Chicago.Talton was 7 of 15 from the field with six rebounds.Complete RecapBox ScoreDePaul falls in heart-breaker to Seton Hall
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Fuquan Edwin converted the game-winning layup with 6.9 seconds remaining to give Seton Hall a 73-72 win against DePaul on Wednesday night.Aaron Cosby led Seton Hall (12-2) with 24 points.Jamee Crockett of DePaul missed a wide open 3-pointer with four seconds left to seal Seton Hall's win in the Big East conference opener for both teams. A turnover gave Seton Hall the ball with 26 seconds remaining as they trailed DePaul, 72-71.DePaul (9-5, 0-1) chipped away at Seton Hall's 40-32 halftime lead. DePaul guard Durrell McDonald made a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 52 with 9:42 remaining.Less than a minute later the Blue Demons took the lead on Brandon Young's three-point play. From then on, the teams traded baskets as neither squad led by more than five points the rest of the game.Complete RecapBox Score
Bradley knocks off Southern Illinois
CARBONDALE, Ill. --Walt Lemon Jr. scored 20 points Wednesday night to help Bradley to a 66-60 victory over Southern Illinois.Lemon's basket with 2:58 left gave the Braves (10-4, 2-0 Missouri Valley) the lead for good at 57-56. Lemon finished 8 for 11 from the field and also contributed five steals for Bradley, which was 0-9 on the road in the MVC last season. Dyricus Simms-Edwards and Jordan Prosser had 11 points apiece for the Braves.Desmar Jackson led the Salukis (7-6, 0-2) with 15 points and nine rebounds. Jeff Early scored 11 and Anthony Beane Jr. added 10 points for SIU.Bradley shot 50 percent from the field and led 28-23 at halftime. Southern Illinois shot 42 percent and was just 13 for 23 from the free-throw line. Bradley was 14 of 18.Complete RecapBox Score
Western Illinois defeats Savannah StateMACOMB, Ill. --Adam Link scored 10 points and Western Illinois slipped by Savannah State 39-35, extending their winning streak to eight games.Terell Parks had eight rebounds and blocked seven shots for the Leathernecks (11-3).Savannah State led 23-12 at halftime. But the Tigers shot 32.6 percent from the field for the game, while Western Illinois shot 44 percent.Khiry White led the Tigers with 10 points. Arnold Louis had eight rebounds.Savannah State (5-8) has now lost five consecutive games.Complete RecapBox Score