Dec. 11, 1999

Postgame Audio
? Coach Kruger, B. Cook, C. Bradford
? KSU Coach Asbury
? KSU players T. Kitt, T, Reynolds, J. Reid

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Poor shooting by Kansas State or good defense from Illinois?

A little of both Saturday night as No. 22 Illinois, behind 20 points from freshman guard Frank Williams, beat Kansas State 81-48 to end the Wildcats' five-game winning streak.

"They just kicked us. We need to go back to work," Kansas State Tom Asbury said after his team committed 21 turnovers and shot 28 percent from the field.

"The last 10 minutes we sort of ran out of gas. And Illinois is good. They're deep and well coached."

For the second straight game, Illinois (5-2) played a school formerly coached by Illini coach Lon Kruger. Illinois beat Texas Pan-American on Wednesday night to give Kruger his 300th victory.

Lucas Johnson added 14 points, and Cory Bradford scored 12 points for Illinois, which shot 52 percent in the second half.

The Illini have won three straight after back-to-back losses to Duke and Maryland.

"We became more active in the second half. We were aggressive on the boards and strong with the basketball," Kruger said.

Kansas State (5-2) got 11 points from Josh Reid, and 10 from Galen Morrison, but the Wildcats struggled with their shots throughout the game.

They made only 9-of-30 field-goal attempts in the first half and then just 7-of-28 in the second.

Reid said he and his teammates simply couldn't get into a rhythm.

"We were not really in synch tonight," Reid. "Illinois' pressure defense was very good. When they went to a zone we were not able to crack it and when we did get open looks we couldn't get our shots to fall."

Bradford said the Illini emphasized defensive pressure as they prepared for the game.

"We worked on the zone defense in practice," he said. "It paid off."

Williams, who hit 7-of-13 field goal attempts, did more than score. He grabbed six rebounds, had four assists and two steals while committing only two turnovers.

Kruger said he was pleased how Williams directed the offense and indicated he's making good progress at point guard.

"He made better decisions by moving the ball and finishing plays," he said.

Asbury was equally impressed.

"He's solid. He's a great athlete. He played well," he said.

Illinois jumped on the Wildcats at the start of the second half, going on a 13-6 run to take a 49-32 lead in the first seven minutes.

Williams sparked the Illini run, starting the half with a 3-pointer.