March 20, 2003
INDIANAPOLIS - Brian Cook had 17 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out Thursday to help lead No. 10 Illinois to a 65-60 victory over Western Kentucky University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the RCA Dome.
Dee Brown added 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Fighting Illini (25-6) -- the fourth seed in the West Region -- who advances to take on the winner of the second game of the session between Notre Dame and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Nate Williams paced the 13th-seeded Hilltoppers (24-9) with 17 points. The loss snapped a season-high 12-game win streak for WKU.
"Obviously, it was a really hard-fought game," Hilltopper head coach Dennis Felton said. "We have a lot to be excited about -- the way we played, the way we defended and how our aggressiveness made some things happen for us. We just came up short in the end."
The Toppers controlled much of the early action, scoring first when David Boyden hit a three-pointer 1:10 into the contest. Brown's layup with 16:33 to go gave the Illini their first lead, 7-5, but Patrick Sparks' three-pointer at the other end on WKU's next possession keyed a stretch where the Hilltoppers built their lead.
Williams had back-to-back baskets -- the second coming on a dunk off an inbound play -- and Filip Videnov hit a three to make the score 15-9 with 14:31 remaining. UI closed to within three twice, but Mike Wells canned a trey and a baseline jumper to give the Toppers their largest lead, 22-14, with 10:10 left. It was at that point that Western hit a dry spell that would let the Fighting Illini back into the game.
With 8:51 to go, Cook sank a three-pointer to start a 13-0 UI run. Deron Williams' jumper at 5:49 gave the Illini a 23-22 advantage, which they built to five points after a Roger Powell layup and two free throws from James Augustine.
Sparks then stole the ball on the sideline and went the distance for a layup, completing the three-point play after a foul to end a 7:27 Topper drought. Williams tied the game with two free throws less than a minute later, but UI scored on consecutive trips down the floor and led 31-28 at the break.
Cook converted a three-point play for the first score after the break, but the Hilltoppers answered with 10 straight points to take a 38-36 lead with 15:58 to go. Anthony Winchester hit a three to pull WKU within one, and Caleb Halcomb finished a three-point play almost a minute later to give the Hilltoppers the lead back. The Illini scored five consecutive points, but Winchester sank another three-pointer to make the score 41-41 with 14:12 remaining.
The game was tied five times and saw a pair of lead changes over the next eight minutes, with Wells giving the Hilltoppers their final advantage, 54-53, at 6:52 with a short jumper.
Cook answered with a pair of free throws 33 seconds later as UI would hold Western without a field goal over a 5:11 stretch to extend to a 63-55 lead. Williams ended the spell with a dunk and Boyden added a three to cut the deficit to 63-60 with 57 seconds left, but Brown iced the game with two free throws at 0:22. The Hilltoppers missed two three-point attempts as time ran out.
"I thought this was a great basketball game," said UI head coach Bill Self. "Western Kentucky plays the way basketball is supposed to be played. They are a well-coached team, and they played well today."
The Fighting Illini outrebounded WKU, 38-35, and connected on 42.9 percent from the floor while limiting the Toppers to a 37.9 field-goal percentage. UI also made 12-of-14 free-throw attempts.
Both teams committed 14 turnovers.
Boyden and Wells each collected eight points and six rebounds, tying for team-high honors in the latter category, while Winchester was 3-of-5 from the behind the arc to finish with nine points and five boards. Sparks was held to six points, but led the squad with five assists and three steals.
-- WKU --
