Josh Reaves drained six 3-pointers on his Senior Day Sunday, finishing with a career-high 26 points, 11 rebounds and four steals as Penn State rallied in the second half for a 72-56 Big 10 Conference win over Illinois at Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.

Lamar Stevens scored 16 points for the Nittany Lions (14-17, 7-13), which won for the seventh time in 10 games after starting the Big 10 schedule 0-10. Penn State finishes as the 10th seed for the upcoming Big 10 tourney and will avoid the play-in round.

Freshmen Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Ayo Dosunmu paced the Fighting Illini (11-20, 7-13) with 16 points each. But Illinois went cold in the second half, making just 5 of 23 shots from the field and failing to connect on any 3-pointers after going 5 of 6 from beyond the arc in the first half.

Reaves drilled a 3-pointer with 17:37 left in the game to give the Nittany Lions the lead for good at 36-34. He also nailed consecutive 3-pointers to open up a 47-39 advantage with 14:29 remaining.

For good measure, Reaves tacked on a breakaway dunk with 28 seconds left, leaving the game right after a Penn State timeout to a standing ovation and a hug from coach Patrick Chambers.

As is often the case with Sunday games that tip at noon, this one was offense-optional early. At the second TV timeout, Illinois held a 9-8 lead. Both teams experienced trouble breaking down the other's defense.

The Fighting Illini gained some traction in the middle of the half, using the 3-pointer to establish a working margin. Trent Frazier and Aaron Jordan each drilled 3-balls to help them open up a 22-15 lead with 6:06 left.

Penn State went on a 14-3 run, grabbing a 29-25 advantage when freshman Myles Dread nailed a 3-pointer at the 2:39 mark. But Illinois scored the next seven points, with Andres Feliz capping the stretch with a basket with 1:12 remaining, and took a 32-31 edge to halftime.

--Field Level Media

--Field Level Media