Recap: Illinois 69, Nebraska 57

[March 05, 2015]  Illinois 69, Nebraska 57: Rayvonte Rice scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half as the host Illini rallied past the Cornhuskers in their final regular-season home game.

Kendrick Nunn and freshman Leron Black each chipped in 11 points apiece for Illinois (19-11, 9-8 Big Ten), which guaranteed itself of at least a .500 finish in Big Ten play for the first time in three years under coach John Groce. Malcolm Hill added 10 points while Nnanna Egwu provided eight rebounds and four blocks for the Illini.

Shavon Shields tallied 14 points and Terran Petteway had 13 as Nebraska (13-16, 5-12) suffered its seventh straight defeat and failed to win a road game in conference play. David Rivers contributed 10 points while Leslee Smith had eight points and nine boards for the Cornhuskers.

Illinois used an early 9-0 spurt to pull ahead midway through the first half and increased its lead up to 31-23 with less than a minute remaining before intermission. Rivers took advantage of a defensive lapse on an inbounds play and scored at the buzzer to leave Nebraska trailing by six at the break, sparking a run of 13 consecutive points for the Cornhuskers - including seven straight points from Shields - to pull ahead 36-31.

The Illini rallied behind Rice, who drilled 3-pointers to bookend an 11-4 push, before the senior transfer accentuated his brilliant second half with a triple over Shields from the top of the key with 1½ minutes remaining to give Illinois a 59-50 lead. Following a timeout, Ahmad Starks broke Nebraska's full-court pressure and found fellow senior Egwu for an uncontested dunk as the Illini took their first double-digit advantage and pulled away.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Illinois finished 20-of-23 from the foul line - outscoring the Cornhuskers by 16 points at the stripe - to improve its Division I-best free-throw percentage to 79.9. ... Nebraska C Walter Pitchford did not make the trip to Champaign after suffering a hip injury in practice. ... The Illini have held their opponent to 60 or fewer points in 13 of their last 14 victories.

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