After falling behind at the start of the game 9-4 and allowing the Huskies to stay within striking distance, the Illinois men’s basketball team whimpered into halftime with a meager three-point lead, 22-19. It had been missing wide-open shots, contested shots and layups throughout the first half and had 10 turnovers while shooting just 29.4 percent from the field.

So in the locker room at the break, center Shaun Pruitt said head coach Bruce Weber pleaded for the Illini to pick up their play in the second half.

“He told us not to get complacent and not to let up,” Pruitt said. “We kind of did that at the end.”

The Illini found a rhythm to take advantage of their athleticism in the opening minutes of the second period – connecting on fast-break dunks and quick passes – to build a big enough lead to fend off Northeastern 63-55.

Running the floor together, Trent Meacham and Chester Frazier proved more than capable of finding Brian Randle and Rodney Alexander, tossing the two of them easy lobs down low for dunks. Eighteen of Illinois’ 26 baskets were either dunks or layups.

Randle led the team with 14 points on 7-11 from the field and had several athletic blocks on the defensive end. Shaun Pruitt led the attack down low against a solid defense, scoring 12 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Ten of those came in the first half off several of his own missed shots.

But the fluid offense didn’t last long.

“I was hoping we could keep (the lead) in the 20s so we could get some other guys some minutes,” Weber said. “That didn’t happen.”

After leading by as much as 23, the Illini let the Huskies back into the game. The Huskies found a spark in guard Chaisson Allen and center Nkem Ojougboh, who combined for 21 points and 23 rebounds. Northeastern went on a 9-1 run with three minutes left and forced Weber to play his starters deep into the second half. Weber had planned on toying with other lineups if his team had maintained a big lead, including a guard combination of freshman Demetri McCamey and Chester Frazier.

Weber will carry a roster of 15 players into the rest of the season and 12 played Sunday. Freshmen Mike Davis, Bill Cole, Mike Tisdale, Demetri McCamey and Jeff Jordan all saw playing time and will not redshirt this season.

Cole scored six points and grabbed two rebounds Sunday and said he wasn’t concerned about the battle for playing time between so many players.

“I think it builds the competitiveness everyday in practice and coach likes that,” Cole said. “The new guys that came in, we proved we can play. I wouldn’t want to look back and say, ‘Oh, I should have redshirted.’ I made that decision, and I’m happy. I’m sure I can contribute. I’m not going to look back on that decision. We all made that decision.”

Frazier’s play, despite only scoring two points, was a highlight of the game for Weber.

“I told him he dominated the game, and he scored one basket,” Weber said.

“He should be happy. Rodney Alexander was positive, too. Calvin gave us some good energy. I told them all, do what you can do, and it will help us be successful.”