Northwestern
Illinois
Men's Basketball Falls To No. 6 Illinois, 84-59
2/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2001
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A first-half drought by the Northwestern men's basketball team proved the difference Saturday against No. 6 Illinois as the Illini downed the Wildcats, 84-59.
Down, 10-5, after three minutes, the Wildcats (8-14, 0-9 Big Ten) went 10:12 without a field goal and saw Illinois reel off 20 straight points at one stretch. That ultimately proved insurmountable against an Illinois team that was coming off an upset loss at Penn State Wednesday and is gearing up for a game against the conference's other Top 10 program -- Michigan State -- on Tuesday.
The Illini (17-5, 7-2 Big Ten) made a season-high 12 3-pointers in 22 tries, including 9-of-14 in the first half. Sean Harrington punctutated the day, coming off the bench to go 4-for-5 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Ben Johnson led the Wildcats with 13 points and Jitim Young and Jason Burke added 11 each.
Brian Cook had 16 points and Damir Krupalija added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Illinois. Harrington scored 14.
The Illini were 9-for-14 from 3-point range in the first half while holding Northwestern to 28 percent shooting in the period.
The Illini stretched the lead to 73-44 with 6:05 left in the game after Cory Bradford converted a 3-point play and Marcus Griffin followed by stealing the inbounds pass and laying it in.
A major difference in this game was Griffin, who sat out the Illini's 63-49 win at Evanston. Griffin had six blocks Saturday, including five early in the first half to establish himself as a presence to be dealt with.
Northwestern is back in action Tuesday night, hosting Minnesota in the first of two straight home games. Tipoff time is 8:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
