Notre Dame 84, Illinois 79

[December 03, 2015]  Starting guards Steve Vasturia and Demetrius Jackson scored 21 points apiece and Notre Dame took control with a 29-9 run early in the second half on Wednesday night to beat Illinois 84-79 in a Big Ten-ACC Challenge game in Champaign, Ill.

Vasturia hit 9 of 14 shots from the field and Jackson finished 6 of 10 for the Irish (5-2), who spoiled the re-opening of the Illini's renovated State Farm Center.

Notre Dame, which also received the fifth double-double of the season from forward Zach Auguste (16 points, 13 rebounds), shot 51.8 percent from the field, including 10 of 20 from 3-point range.

Guard Malcolm Hill had 19 points for Illinois (3-5), which was playing its first game without leading rebounder and third leading scorer Mike Thorne Jr., who underwent surgery to repair knee cartilage on Monday.

The Illini, who saw their nonconference win streak at the State Farm Center end at 36 games, shot 35.1 percent from the floor in the second half, including a 2-of-18 stretch to open the half as the Irish took control.

Illinois opened a 10-point lead at 43-33 after scoring the first bucket of the second half, but Jackson and Auguste keyed a 29-9 run in the ensuing 11 minutes as Notre Dame took its first double-digit lead at 62-52 with 7:16 left. From there, the Illini got as close as six points before the waning seconds.

The opening 20 minutes was a half of runs.

Notre Dame grabbed a 7-3 lead, but Illinois scored 10 points to jump in front 13-7. The Illini still led by six at 21-15 when 3-pointers by forward Matt Ryan and Vasturia keyed a 13-4 spree for the Irish, putting the visitors back on top 28-25 with 7:30 remaining before intermission.

Illinois, though, closed the half with a 16-5 run to take a 41-33 advantage into the break.

During a halftime ceremony, the State Farm Center court was officially christened "Lou Henson Court" with more than 100 former players and 30-plus family members on hand to honor the former Illinois coach.

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