Illini happy to finally get Big Ten win

CHAMPAIGN -- When Illinois hit the floor Wednesday night against Michigan, exactly two months remained until Selection Sunday.

Seniors Brian Randle and Shaun Pruitt can hear the calendar ticking loud and clear.

"There's some mornings I wake up and just kind of lay there and it hits me," Randle said. " 'You know, there's only so many games left in my college career.' I start to reminisce about good and bad and all this stuff, but I'm just trying to enjoy it, really."

Randle, as well as Pruitt, will be able to reminisce about Wednesday's game as being "very good."

Randle produced most of his second career double-double in the first half, then Pruitt took over in the second half when Randle fell into foul trouble.

Between Randle's career-high 19 points with 10 rebounds and Pruitt's 19 points with 7 rebounds, Illinois' five-game losing streak is no more.

"That was what we kind of envisioned from the get-go," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber.

Calvin Brock and Trent Meacham added 11 points apiece as the Illini earned a much-needed 75-57 Big Ten win before a less-than-full Assembly Hall.

"I was just so excited to walk and shake hands (after the game) with a 'W,' " said Pruitt, who started heading toward the Michigan bench as the final seconds ticked away.

Illinois (9-9, 1-4) earned this victory by being what it hasn't been so many times this season: the team to go on a big second-half run.

With Randle on the bench with 3 fouls, Michigan's DeShawn Sims went on a 7-point spree to turn a 7-point deficit into a 43-43 knot.

"We're in the same spot we've been in all year," Weber said. "But this time we respond."

While Michigan (5-12, 1-4) went scoreless for 5:07, Meacham fed Brock for a 12-foot jumper on an inbounds play to trigger a 13-0 run that essentially decided the game.

Pruitt began screaming for the ball in the post and made a layup and a free throw.

The next time down the floor, when Michigan sent a double-team at Pruitt, the center turned toward the baseline and fed Randle under the basket for a double-pump layup and a foul.

Demetri McCamey and Meacham added 3-pointers as everyone on the Illini roster enjoyed their first victory since Dec. 28.

"We needed a win," Randle said. "Really, that Indiana game gave everybody some motivation. It definitely picked the young guys up.

"I think between me, Shaun, Chester (Frazier), Trent and Calvin, we gained a better understanding of what we needed to do.

"Early on, I think we were lacking there as leaders and role models, so to speak, as to how to play."

Michigan, which went scoreless for more than five minutes during the game's critical juncture, got a career-high 15 points from freshman shooter Anthony Wright.

Illinois next ventures to Purdue and Ohio State for games that now look like possibilities instead of prison sentences.

"There's still a lot of room to get better, but it puts us on the right track," Randle said. "We understand how hard we need to play and, really, that we need to play together -- and try to let this snowball into more wins."