Bruce, 1;Kelvin, 0

 

 

By Eric Chima

Chester Frazier found himself slipping on the Assembly Hall floor Tuesday night, the ball squirting away and a pair of Indiana defenders closing in. Falling to his chest, Frazier reached out and slapped the ball to Jamar Smith, who swung it to Rich McBride in the corner. The ball swished through, and suddenly Illinois was pulling away.

It was an ugly play that typified an ugly game. But McBride’s three came as part of a 17-2 Illinois run that spanned both halves and spurred the Illini to a 51-43 win.

When the run began, 5:10 remained in the first half, and the Hoosiers led by seven. By the time it ended, more than five minutes into the second half, Illinois’ defense had carried them to an eight-point lead they would never give up.

“After the beginning of the game, for that next 25, 27 minutes, (Indiana didn’t) score a whole bunch more points,” Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said. “We executed the game plan. When we said, ‘Go behind this guy,’ they went behind. When they called a play, our kids read it, and they were there.”

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McBride finished with 15 points, including eight during the crucial run, and Shaun Pruitt added 10 points and 13 rebounds to carry the Illini. But it was the defense that made the difference, holding the Hoosiers to their lowest point total of the year and making up for an Illini offense that never ran very smoothly. The teams combined to shoot 39 percent from the field and 26 percent from behind the arc.

“We made it tough on them, but they made it tough on us,” Weber said. “They don’t let you get anything easy. … It was a survival win.”

Early on, the Illini looked like anything but a defensive powerhouse. Indiana built 9-2 and 21-14 leads with an array of short jump shots, and star forward D.J. White hit his first three attempts. But then the Illini started the run that changed the game, holding the Hoosiers without a field goal for nearly 12 minutes until just before the half.

After the Hoosiers made a bucket to tie the game at 23 just before halftime, the Illini carried their run into the start of the second half, a stretch that has given the team problems all year. After Pruitt hit a short jumper in the lane to start the half, Frazier’s scramble led to the first of two consecutive McBride threes before Indiana even got on the board. The Hoosiers pulled within two points twice late in the second half, but dunks by Pruitt and Warren Carter helped put the game away.

“We came out in the second half with a lot of energy,” McBride said. “We just finally finished a game for once, against a great team.”

The Illini were without forward Brian Randle, who was suffering from plantar fasciitis, and didn’t know if Pruitt would be able to play until the team’s daily shootaround.

Between its injury problems and the arrival of Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson, who drew the wrath of Illinois fans when he wooed prized recruit Eric Gordon away from the Illini earlier this year, the team faced a host of distractions. But both coaches downplayed their enmity, and Pruitt said the team was more focused on avoiding its third home loss of the year than on any off-court issues.

“Our back was against the wall, not theirs,” Pruitt said. “No matter who we were playing tonight, we just needed to win.”