Northwestern 49, Illinois 43

[January 13, 2014]  EVANSTON — 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 19.4percent 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.

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