Michigan State was able to trim a 16-point Illinois lead all the way down to a single possession, but the Fighting Illini made just enough plays down the stretch to escape East Lansing with a big road victory on Saturday afternoon.

Kofi Cockburn scored 27 points and Jacob Grandison added 24 to lead Illinois to a 79-74 victory over Michigan State at the Breslin Center. The Fighting Illini led the entire way, though they endured quite the scare late in the contest.

Despite Illinois dominating the game most of the way, Michigan State’s Tyson Walker caught fire late, scoring 24 points in the second half. His surge helped the Spartans cut down a 67-54 deficit with 5:28 to play all the way down to 2 points with less than 4 minutes remaining.

After Michigan State made the score 76-74 with 47 seconds to play on a 3-point play from Walker, Illinois’ Trent Frazier connected on a 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining to seal the deal for the Fighting Illini.

Gabe Brown missed a 3-point attempt with time winding down and Illinois grabbed the rebound, securing a road win.

Frazier was the only other Illinois player to reach double figures in the scoring department, adding 12. The next-highest scorer was Alfonso Plummer, who had 8 points.

Walker ended the game with 26 points in the loss. AJ Hoggard scored 15 and Joey Hauser had 11.

With the victory, Illinois is now tied with Purdue atop the B1G standings as both teams sit 12-4 with 4 games to play. Michigan State has now lost 4 of its last 5 games.