LDN - Sports

Illini end road skid with win at Northwestern

[February 08, 2017] Malcolm Hill scored 14 points while three teammates added double-figure efforts as Illinois earned its first road win of the season, a 68-61 Big Ten victory over Northwestern on Tuesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.

Maverick Morgan, Te'Jon Lucas and Michael Finke each added 11 as the Illini (14-11, 4-8 Big Ten) snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 1-9 on the road.

Bryant McIntosh scored a game-high 21 points as the Wildcats (18-6, 7-4) took their second straight loss in a game featuring six ties and five lead changes. Vic Law also had 16 points for Northwestern, which slipped to 12-2 at home.

The Wildcats opened an early six-point lead only to surrender 15 unanswered points as the Illinois grabbed a 19-10 lead.

Northwestern chipped away in the final five minutes and claimed a 28-27 lead on McIntosh's 3-pointer with one minute showing. Illinois tied the game at 28-28 on Morgan's free throw with 40 seconds left.

The Wildcats forced a 61-61 tie on a McIntosh free throw with 1:57 to play, but it was Northwestern's final point of the game. Lucas' layup gave the Illini the lead for good with 1:37 remaining. Hill added two free throws, Kipper Nichols had one and Finke had a field goal in the final run.

Hill, the Illini scoring leader, needed four points to move into eighth on Illinois' all-time scoring list but had a sluggish start and didn't reach the milestone until early in the second half. He now has 1,665 career points.

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Illinois Fighting Illini guard Te'Jon Lucas (3) and Northwestern Wildcats forward Gavin Skelly (44) fight for the rebound during the second half of the game at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

The Illini shot 45.3 percent from the floor, while the Wildcats shot 33.9 percent.

Illinois returns to action on Saturday at home against Penn State. Northwestern travels to Wisconsin on Sunday.

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