CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Dain Dainja was an inside force Michigan State had no answer for and Matthew Mayer hit clutch 3s in the second half as Illinois ended the Spartans seven-game win streak with a 75-66 win on Friday night.

Dainja, a player Illinois coach Brad Underwood calls “a dancing bear,” powered inside and scored with both hands to put up 20 points and lead the Illini. Mayer hit 3 of 6 from distance and scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half.

Illinois went on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 54-54, then took the lead on two free throws by Dainja, going in front for the first time since taking a 27-26 first-half lead. Mayer added a pull-up 3 to complete a run of 10 straight points.

Michigan State (12-4, 4-2, Big Ten) rallied to tie the game on a Tyson Walker jumper with 5:47 left, but Coleman Hawkins answered with a 3 to put Illinois (12-5, 3-3) back on top for good.

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 17 points for the Illini. Hawkins scored all nine of his points in the second half and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Mayer blocked six shots.

A.J. Hoggard scored 20 points to lead Michigan State. Walker had 14 and Joey Hauser contributed 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Illinois did not allow a 3-point field goal, the first time they've ever done so since at least the 2010-11 season. The Spartans entered the game ranked third in the Big Ten in three points shooting percentage (.378).

Michigan State went 0-7 from beyond the arc, while Illinois made 6-18 threes. The Spartans were getting open looks from 2 and at the rim early the game, attempting just two 3-point shots in the first half.

"I don't think we've been in a game when we didn't hit a three," MSU coach Tom Izzo said. "When they drop the way they do, I thought we could hit more of those jump shots. We had good shots we just didn't make them."

Illinois made a halftime adjustment that changed the game. In the first half, the Michigan State bigs were pushing Dain Dainja out of the paint and making him catch the ball at the elbow. It caused a problem with spacing and they made Dainja put the ball on the floor.

The focus after the break was for Dainja to carve out space deeper in the paint and catch post catches. He scored 12 of his 20 points in after the break, including 8 points in the decisive final 10 minutes.

"I definitely think I wore them down a little bit," Dainja said. "I was talking with the coaches and they wanted me to get deep position down there. The lower I am, the easier it is."

Illinois clawed its way to the win despite a dominant performance by Michigan State on glass. The Spartans outrebounded Illinois 42-30 overall. They grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, four by Joey Hauser, and outscored Illinois on second-chance points 16-8.

Still, the Illini competed enough on the boards in the second half to pull ahead. Dainja and Coleman Hawkins had 8 and 7 rebounds respectively and combined for 7 offensive rebounds. They were solid on the glass down the stretch to help seal the win.

Michigan State is typically a tough team to beat down the stretch in a possession game because of their execution, defensive stops, and defensive rebounding. Illinois flipped the script in knocking off the Spartans.

With the game tied at 60 with 4:57 remaining in the contest, Illinois scored on its next seven possessions. That stretch included put-backs Dainja and Coleman Hawkins and four clutch free throws.

"Our execution was very good, and then we got a couple of offensive rebounds that were huge," Underwood said. "We found Dain in a couple of deep post-ups."

Brad Underwood said in the post-game that the goal of the Illinois defense was to force Michigan State into contested 2's. Michigan State guards AJ Hoggard and Tysero Walker scored 20 and 14 points respectively, with all of their made shots coming from midrange or layups.

In the end, the strategy worked. Michigan State (1.031 PPP) scored at a slightly lower clip than Illinois (1.172 PPP) and missed 8 layups. Illinois contested shots and had 10 blocks without fouling, committing just 11 personal fouls. The Spartans never reached the bonus in either half and

"We were good with them shooting mid-range 2's all night," Underwood said.

The Illini finished the contest with 10 blocks, six by Mayer. It is the fifth-straight game they have recorded at least six blocks in a game.

The six blocks by Mayer are the most blocks by an Illini this season. He is also the first Illini since Kofi Cockburn on March 1, 2020, to block six shots in a game.

The Illini turned the ball over a season-low five times. Point guard Jayden Epps played 31 minutes and did not commit a turnover.