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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Cory Bradford was in a weird spot.
For the last five minutes of a dogfight against No. 7 Seton
Hall, Illinois' star shooter was on the bench trying to figure out
where and when he'd lost his shot. It didn't take him long to find
it.
|  | | Cory Bradford goes for the basket as Eddie Griffin defends Saturday. |
Illinois (No. 7 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) battled Seton Hall to a tie without Bradford, who
then scored eight points in overtime as the Illini won 87-79 on
Saturday.
Bradford, who shot 2-for-12 and failed to make a 3-pointer in
regulation, made two in overtime to tie former Virginia Tech player
Wally Lancaster's NCAA record of 73 straight games with at least
one 3-pointer.
"That was a perfect time to get it out of the way," Bradford
said. "The only thing going through my mind on the bench was
getting the win."
Illinois (7-2) rallied from a 21-point deficit late in the first
half to force the overtime on the way to its second win this season
over a higher-ranked opponent. Marcus Griffin led Illinois with 24
points and 13 rebounds.
"This is one of the biggest, funnest wins I've ever been part
of," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "Not very often does anyone
come from 21 down against a top 10 team and get the win. It'll do a
lot for our confidence. We really needed to win a close game."
Darius Lane led Seton Hall (5-1) with 31, and Eddie Griffin
added 20 points and 10 rebounds.
"Illinois was too tough for us to handle at this stage in our
season," Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker said. "They were much more
aggressive."
Bradford's 3-pointer with 2:30 left in overtime gave Illinois a
78-74 lead. Andre Barrett's layup pulled Seton Hall (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 7 AP) to 80-79 with
1:29 left, but the Illini hit 7-of-7 free throws to seal the
victory.
Greg Morton made two free throws with 22 seconds remaining in
regulation to tie it at 68. Sergio McClain and Marcus Griffin each
missed potential game-winners for Illinois in the closing seconds.
Illinois had trailed by 21 late in the first half, thwarted by
Seton Hall's defense and 18 first-half points by Lane. The Illini
missed all 10 of their 3-point shots in the first half and trailed
42-25.
Self's halftime speech was neither fiery, nor eventful, but he
did tell players he was disappointed for them because they were
getting beat up in front of a sellout crowd and on national
television.
"I almost took a sabbatical at halftime," Self said.
The Illini started the second half pushing the ball inside,
taking just one 3-point shot in the first seven minutes of the
period while they chipped away at Seton Hall's lead.
Williams made Illinois' first 3-pointer of the game with 12:22
left to bring the Illini to 50-45. Williams' shot came during a
30-13 Illinois run that ended with the Pirates ahead 57-55.
"We just came out with a different mentality," said Williams,
who finished with 21 points, five assists and seven rebounds.
Lucas Johnson grabbed a rebound and dunked it to tie the game at
57 with 7:22 to go. Seton Hall turned it over and Bradford's long
jumper put Illinois ahead 59-57 with 6:47 left in regulation.
The teams traded leads several times before Williams drove the
lane, switched hands and banked one off the backboard to give
Illinois a 68-66 lead with 40 seconds left.
Morton made two free throws and Illinois tried to run time off
the clock to get the last shot, but McClain missed a 3-pointer from
the left wing. The ball bounced off a Seton Hall player out of
bounds with 1.7 seconds left.
The inbound pass went to Marcus Griffin, who missed a jumper in
the paint as the buzzer sounded ending regulation.
"I was hoping we could steal it in overtime," Amaker said.
It was Bradford who stole the overtime.
"Cory played like there was a hundred pound sack on his back
today," Self said. "I didn't think he was much of a factor when I
took him out late. But just when you least expect it, Cory hits the
big shots."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Seton Hall Clubhouse
Illinois Clubhouse
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