It simply would not end, this barrage of rebounds and putbacks and rebounds and putbacks. Too many tips to count, too many arms and legs to track. And while Illinois never scored on this one endless possession, that wasn't the point.

For at the eight minute, 51-second mark of the first half, the tone of this battle between Penn State and Illinois was set.

In the aftermath of that entanglement --with Illinois leading 20-12 -- Penn State point guard Michael Jennings lay face down on the floor. Forward Phil Williams simply scratched his head.

Jennings would eventually stumble into the trainers' room with a slight concussion, and never returned to the game. Neither did Penn State (10-7, 3-5 Big Ten), which fell to the Illini 83-65 in Rec Hall last night.

"They're really impressive on the boards," Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "It was very difficult for us to try to get anything going."

Illini big men Deon Thomas and Shelly Clark combined on the inside for 31 points and 21 rebounds, and guard Richard Keene was 6-for-8 from the outside for 15 points. And Illinois truly showed why it leads the nation in rebounding margin.

By halftime, the Lions had 11 rebounds. The Illini (12-5, 5-3 Big Ten) had 11 offensive rebounds, 28 in all. And Penn State was behind by 21 points.

"That's death for us when we give up second possessions," Parkhill said.

The Lions looked sluggish, slow and went to the locker room at halftime with red faces.

"They were just outhustling us in the first half. It was almost embarrassing," said point guard Dan Earl, who led the Lions to a mild second-half comeback with a career-high 22 points.

But there would be no Rec Hall magic on this night. Penn State cut the lead to to 12 points behind a barrage of three's by Earl and Steve Wydman, but came no closer. And the normally boisterous crowd -- last night 7,013 strong -- simply had no chance to rock the house.

Perhaps they were spoiled by wins over top 25 teams Purdue and Minnesota.

"I definitely felt people expected us to beat Illinois," center John Amaechi said. "It would be easy to come into this game and think we were just going to spring this Rec Hall thing.

"Not one of those guys (in the stands) is going to block to Deon Thomas' shot."

Notes:

-- Jennings is questionable for Saturday's 1 p.m. showdown with Indiana in Rec Hall.

-- Illinois' 83 points were the most by a Penn State opponent in Rec Hall this season. The Lions are 8-0 when giving up less than 70 points, 2-7 when giving up more.