Illini able to avoid any more late Battle heroics

CHAMPAIGN - Talor Battle had Illinois right where he wanted: Winning in the final minute, but not by enough to withstand another last-second shot to the gut.

Three times in the last two seasons, the Penn State junior slew the Illini with end-of-game heroics.

Not Tuesday night at the Assembly Hall, though the opportunities were there.

The first-team all-Big Ten point guard missed 4 shots in the final minute to allow Illinois to escape with a grueling 54-53 Big Ten victory.

The last one, a rainbow 3-pointer beyond the top of the key over Demetri McCamey's raised hand, came up short of the rim as the horn sounded.

"I was waiting for that thing to go in," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said.

"He's going to hit 50 percent of those shots," said Illinois junior center Mike Tisdale, who swatted a Battle layup out of bounds with 3.5 seconds left. "We got lucky and ended up getting the win."

Illinois (12-5, 4-0) grabbed first place in the Big Ten - at least for a day - largely due to Tisdale and McCamey.

In yet another Penn State-Illinois matchup where every point felt like 10, the junior duo combined for 32 of Illinois' 35 points over the last 31 minutes.

Tisdale rolled up 16 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high 7 blocks despite wearing a bulky cushion on his back to protect the welts and bruises he suffered Saturday at Indiana.

McCamey, back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench twice last week, scored 18 of his game-high 25 points after intermission.

He delivered the game's signature play with 2:34 left when he pump-faked a Penn State defender into the air, stepped up and nailed a 3-pointer to pull the Illini within 53-52.

"I just had to make a play," McCamey said. "I saw 3 on the shot clock, so I knew I had enough time to pump-fake. He bit for it and I just shot it. Luckily, it went in."

So did McCamey's final shot. On Illinois' next possession, McCamey swished a 20-footer with 1:15 left to provide the margin of victory.

Of course, Illinois and Penn State had to fill the final minute with a half's worth of theatrics.

Battle rimmed an open 3-pointer, but Penn State grabbed the rebound. Then Battle missed another 3-pointer from the top of the key, even though he had 6-foot-9 Bill Cole guarding him in an unwanted switch.

Tisdale, the team's best free-throw shooter, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to give Battle more chances.

He attacked the basket, but Tisdale helped and threw his shot out of bounds with 3.5 seconds left. Battle's final shot never had a chance and left him 4 of 19 for the night.

Now, if Michigan State defeats Minnesota at home Wednesday, it'll be a first-place showdown between the Big Ten's only unbeatens Saturday at the Breslin Center.

"Hopefully we can build off the momentum," McCamey said, "and go up there and get a win and come back to Champaign happy."

"It's not going to be easy, I promise you," Tisdale said.