Kofi Cockburn scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds Saturday as No. 24 Illinois rallied down the stretch to stay in first place in the Big Ten Conference with a 59-56 win over Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.
No one else got into double figures for the Fighting Illini (15-5, 8-2), but Alfonso Plummer came through with three key free throws in the last 12 seconds to hold off the upset bid. Illinois was able to win despite making only 5 of 18 3-pointers and getting outscored 15-2 in points off turnovers.
Pete Nance carried the scoring load for the Wildcats (9-10, 2-8) with 21 points, but just didn’t get enough help. Northwestern made just 35.7 percent of its field goal tries and failed to overcome a 32-16 Illini advantage in points in the paint.
But the Wildcats grabbed a 46-40 lead with 8:09 remaining in the game on a 3-point play by Elyjah Williams. However, Illinois gradually reeled them in, taking the lead for good when Da’monte Williams jammed off a Cockburn miss at the 1:34 mark for a 55-53 edge.
The Illini held the Wildcats without a point for 3:27 after Chase Audige canned a baseline jumper for a 53-51 Northwestern lead with 3:28 left.
Illinois controlled most of the first half as Northwestern simply couldn’t get off the mark. The Wildcats missed nine of their first 10 shots and the Fighting Illini did enough to establish a 19-9 lead when RJ Melendez dunked in transition with 8:54 left.
But the Illini shriveled up and died offensively for the rest of the half, managing just five points. The Wildcats weren’t much better, but were able to crawl their way back into contention with an 8-2 run that got them within 21-17 on Ty Berry’s 3-pointer at the 4:39 mark.
The half ended in fitting fashion for Northwestern as it played for the last shot, but Julian Roper’s putback was negated by a shot clock violation because Robbie Beran’s stepback jumper missed the rim. Illinois led 24-19 at the break.
–Field Level Media
