Gee leads Illini into first place, 59-44

Gee scored 16 of his game high 20 points in the second half Saturday night to lead visiting Illinois to a 59-44 victory over Northwestern.

Northwestern's Evan Eschmeyer, the Big Ten's leading scorer with a 24 point average, was held to just 12 points.

Gee appeared unstoppable working inside for some easy baskets as well as hitting short jumpers from the corner.

He scored 12 of Illinois' first 18 points in the second half.

The victory kept the Illini unbeaten (3-0) and alone in first place in the Big Ten. The Illini are 11-5 overall.

Northwestern fell to 7-5 in the Big Ten and 1-2 on the season.

Indiana 83, Ohio State 66

Luke Recker and Charlie Miller, held to two points apiece in the first half, combined for 28 in the second period as Indiana beat Ohio State.

It was the fifth straight loss for the Buckeyes (7-8, 0-2 Big Ten), still winless on the road this season.

Recker had 19 points and Miller had season highs with 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

Indiana (11-5, 2-2) got 13 points by A.J. Guyton in the first half and took a 37-29 lead at the break.

Guyton, who finished with 17, left the game with his fourth foul midway through the second period, but two free throws and a rebound basket by Miller helped the Hoosiers quickly build their lead back to 13.

Penn State 75, Minnesota 68

Calvin Booth scored a career-high 23 points and Joe Crispin broke a school record by hitting all 14 of his free throw attempts as Penn State came from behind to beat Minnesota for its first Big Ten victory.

Penn State trailed by two with just more than two minutes to play when Pete Lisicky nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Nittany Lions the lead.

After Minnesota's Russ Archambault turned the ball over on a carry with 1:05 to play, Crispin went on an 8-for-8 tear from the free-throw line in the game's last minute to put the Golden Gophers (7-7 overall, 0-3 conference) away.

Lisicky added 15 points and Crispin 16 for Penn State. Booth had eight rebounds and four blocks for Penn State. Penn State (8-5, 1-2) hit 29 of 33 free throws.

01-12-98