National Basketball Association
Illinois 72, Northwestern 67
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Illinois
Officials:
# Evan Burroughs, # Mike Eades, # Larry Scirotto
Attendance:
7652
By SportsDirect Inc.
Illinois 72, Northwestern 67: Kendrick Nunn set a career high with 25 points - including four in the final 7.5 seconds - and pulled down five rebounds as the visiting Fighting Illini held off the Wildcats.
Aaron Cosby added 19 points and five rebounds for Illinois (12-6, 2-3 Big Ten), which halted a five-game road skid. Ahmad Starks and Malcolm Hill tallied 10 points apiece for the Illini, who went 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Alex Olah collected 14 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for Northwestern (10-7, 1-3), which has lost three in a row. Bryant McIntosh scored 16 points for the Wildcats, who finished 12-of-13 from the foul line.
Nunn slammed home an alley-oop to put Illinois on top 43-35 and later hit a smooth floater to push the margin to 10 with 10 minutes remaining. Tre Demps scored at the rim to pull Northwestern within 66-65 with 12.2 seconds left before Nunn kept his nerve at the foul line to preserve the victory.
Cosby knocked down two 3-pointers and scored eight points during a 16-4 run as Illinois turned a one-point deficit into a 30-19 lead. Cosby and Nunn combined to score 27 of the Illini's 37 points in the first half as they took a four-point edge into intermission.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Illinois came into the game ranked 10th nationally in fewest turnovers (10.3) and finished with a season-low three. … Northwestern has lost seven straight home Big Ten games dating back to last season. … The Jackie Robinson West Little League baseball team was in attendance and received a standing ovation.
Top Game Performances
| Illinois |
|
Northwestern |
|
Kendrick Nunn 25 |
Scoring |
Bryant McIntosh 16 |
|
Ahmad Starks 4 |
Assists |
Alex Olah 4 |
|
Malcolm Hill 6 |
Rebounds |
Alex Olah 12 |
|
Kendrick Nunn 5 |
Free Throws Made |
JerShon Cobb 2 |
|
Jaylon Tate 2 |
Steals |
N/A |
|
Nnanna Egwu 1 |
Blocks |
Alex Olah 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Illinois
|
72 |
41.9 |
8-24 |
12-14 |
12 |
26 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
| Northwestern
|
67 |
46.2 |
7-21 |
12-13 |
14 |
34 |
4 |
0 |
11 |
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