Illini fall at Indiana, second loss of season

Marco Killingsworth scored 23 points, including 20 in the decisive second half, and grabbed 12 rebounds, as 13th- ranked Indiana held off No. 7 Illinois, 62-60, in a Big Ten thriller at Assembly Hall. Roderick Wilmont added 17 points and nine boards for the Hoosiers (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten), who have won seven of their last eight games. Shaun Pruitt netted a career-high 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the Illini (16-2, 2-2), who have lost two straight contests. Brian Randle added 15 points and James Augustine contributed 11 for Illinois, which made just 2-of-14 three-point tries and 8-of-16 free throws. On the contrast, IU hit on 7-of-20 from behind the arc and 15-of-23 from the charity stripe. The Hoosiers also held All-Big Ten guard Dee Brown to only five points on 1-of-9 shooting. Brown, who fouled out late in the game, did have 11 assists. Indiana led by four at the intermission, but Killingsworth`s basket less than two minutes into the frame extended the edge to 36-27. The Hoosiers continued to ride on Killingsworth`s back as his jumper with 10:35 remaining in the game made it 51-38 and the lead then stretched as high as 15 points later in the stanza. However, Illinois would not go away quietly. Trailing 55-40, the Illini used a 12-0 burst, keyed by seven points from Randle and three from Augustine, to climb within 55-52 with 4:52 to go. Pruitt`s layup just over 30 seconds later then cut the deficit to two points and the Indiana lead remained two, at 60-58, with just under one minute to go. Killingsworth then was blocked from in close, but Augustine missed a turnaround jump hook at the other end with 22.5 seconds to go. The Hoosiers grabbed the rebound and Killingsworth was quickly fouled, but the forward missed 1-of-2 with 20.2 seconds to go. Brown then missed a deep three-pointer, but Warren Carter tipped the ball in with 4.5 seconds to play, trimming the Illinois deficit to 61-60. However, Robert Vaden was quickly fouled and made 1-of-2 to put Indiana ahead by two points with 3.9 seconds to go. Illini guard Rich McBride`s desperation shot from halfcourt was then off the mark and the Hoosiers held on for the dramatic win. Illinois came out on fire as it began the game with eight straight points, keyed by four from Randle, and later increased the margin to 14-3 on a pair of free throws by Pruitt with 11:42 left in the half. Indiana started the game by going 1-of-10 from the floor and committed seven turnovers to dig an early hole. The Hoosiers, though, would rally. Trailing 19-9, Indiana ran off a lengthy 18-0 spurt to take the lead. Ben Allen hit a pair of three-pointers to kickstart the surge and Marshall Strickland`s layup with just under three minutes to go tied the score. Following a layup by Killingsworth and a pair of free throws from Monroe Lewis, Wilmont then scored the final four points of the barrage to give the Hoosiers a 27-19 edge with 1:16 left in the half. During the run, the Illini went nearly 6 1/2 minutes without a point, which included seven straight misses from the field. Indiana eventually led 28-24 at halftime. Game Notes Indiana has won 11 straight home games in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers are also 35-8 at Assembly Hall since Mike Davis took over as head coach in 2000...Illinois is now 55-3 in its last 58 home games...Indiana put an end to a five-game losing streak with the Illini and leads the all-time series 79-75.