National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Northwestern 49, Illinois 43
When: 7:30 PM ET, Sunday, January 12, 2014
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Illinois
Officials: # Jim Burr, # Tim Clougherty, # Paul Szelc
Attendance: 8117

Northwestern 49, Illinois 43: Drew Crawford scored 13 points, including four late free throws, as the Wildcats held down a potent Illini offense to earn a home victory.

Tre Demps and JerShon Cobb also had 11 points apiece for Northwestern (8-9, 1-3 Big Ten), which gave coach Chris Collins his first Big Ten victory. Demps and Crawford each had eight rebounds for the Wildcats.

Tracy Abrams finished with 13 points as the lone player to score in double figures for Illinois (13-4, 2-2), which came into the game averaging 72.1 points. Leading scorer Rayvonte Rice had his 16-game double-figure scoring streak snapped at 16, finishing with eight points on 2-of-11 shooting from the field.

The game was close throughout the first half, with Northwestern holding an edge for much of the first 20 minutes thanks to its defense, which held Illinois to 19.4 percent shooting before halftime, including 0-of-8 from 3-point range. The Wildcats' biggest advantage was eight points and they settled for a seven-point advantage at the break.

Illinois opened the second half with a 12-5 run to tie the game with 11:33 to go. Northwestern led by nine in the closing minutes before a 7-0 Illini run, but Crawford hit four free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal it.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Illini's 15 points in the first half was their season low. … Illinois outrebounded Northwestern 40-36. … The win snapped a two-game win streak for the Illini in Evanston.




Top Game Performances
 
Illinois   Northwestern
Tracy Abrams 13 Scoring Drew Crawford 13
Tracy Abrams 5 Assists Tre Demps 5
Jon Ekey 9 Rebounds Drew Crawford 8
Rayvonte Rice 3 Free Throws Made Drew Crawford 7
Tracy Abrams 3 Steals JerShon Cobb 1
Nnanna Egwu 2 Blocks Sanjay Lumpkin 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Illinois 43 28.1 4-19 3-6 11 37 4 8 6
Northwestern 49 37.2 7-21 10-17 13 33 2 1 11