Illini get to play another day
INDIANAPOLIS -- With a 10-point lead and five minutes to go in its Big Ten tournament opener against Penn State, Illinois looked to be on its way to a relatively easy victory.
Trent Meacham knew better, because nothing for the Illini comes easy this season.
Meacham saved a monumental collapse, drawing two defenders before finding Chester Frazier alone for the winning layup with 3.8 seconds left Thursday.
Talor Battle's 35-footer at the buzzer didn't hit the rim. The 10th-seeded Illini survived 64-63 and will play No. 2 Purdue at 5:30 p.m. today in the quarterfinals.
The last two Illinois seasons ended by squandering double-digit leads in the second halves of NCAA Tournament losses to Washington and Virginia Tech.
The Illini (14-18) aren't going to be back in the tourney unless they win three more in Indianapolis, but this season almost ended with a similar meltdown.
Frazier's basket gave Illinois its first points since Shaun Pruitt made 2 free throws with 4:53 left for a 62-52 lead.
"The last four minutes (Penn State) took it to us," Meacham said. "To finish the game with a play like that and win it, hopefully that can propel us and see if we can go on a run here."
Penn State (15-16), playing without its two leading scorers, notched 11 straight points to take its first lead since 12-10 on Andrew Jones' 2 free throws with 2:04 remaining.
"All year we hit these walls and have a drought in scoring," Illini coach Bruce Weber said.
This drought started when Meacham missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and continued through six more possessions.
Freshman Demetri McCamey blocked a shot with 30 seconds left. Calvin Brock then missed a pull-up jumper, but Illinois kept possession when the ball went out of bounds.
With seven seconds left, Frazier inbounded to Meacham, who got the ball back to a wide-open Frazier under the basket. Frazier's man, Battle, had left to help with Meacham.
"Trent made a good read," Frazier said.
"It was surprising how open Chester was," Meacham said.
Illinois hit 6 of 12 3-pointers in the first half, yet led just 39-37 at halftime. The Illini were up 28-17 at one point before Penn State rallied on 58 percent shooting.
Illinois' defense tightened considerably in the second half, holding the Nittany Lions to 8-of-32 shooting. Behind a balanced attack -- Brian Randle led with 17 points, followed by Meacham (14), McCamey (11) and Pruitt (10) -- the Illini gradually increased their lead to a seemingly comfortable 10.
The comfort then turned to sweaty palms.
In a season that has seen Illinois find one way after another to lose close games, Meacham and Frazier teamed up to find a way to win one.
"It seemed like it was going to be the story of our season again," Weber said. "I guess the movie ended differently this time."