Feb 16, 2002

Box Score

By JIM O'CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The road jerseys are starting to look pretty good on Illinois.

The 18th-ranked Illini beat Seton Hall 75-65 Saturday for their fourth straight victory and this was the third road game in the streak.

To understand how big that statistic is, the first of the latest four wins was at Michigan on Feb. 7. It was Illinois' first win of the season on an opponent's court. A home win over Purdue was followed by a win at Michigan State and the non-conference victory over the Pirates at the Meadowlands.

"We put our own backs up against the wall," Illinois coach Bill Self said, referring to the three straight losses that preceded the current winning streak. "I think the breakthrough game was Michigan."

Illinois (19-7) was ranked third in The Associated Press' preseason poll and reached as high as No. 2 during the season. But the losing streak had them down to No. 21.

"The mood of the team was down and we needed to see some success," Self said. "I wouldn't say we were ready to throw in the towel but we weren't having the kind of year that was scripted out for us. Now we have momentum going and we're ready to peak at the right time and can still accomplish the same thing."

There is no doubt Brian Cook and Frank Williams are the players who have to lead the Illini as the season winds down, and they both came up big against Seton Hall (12-13).

Cook, who was benched for 5{ minutes early in the game, set season highs with 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Williams added 19 points and five assists.

"I knew what I was coming out for because I wasn't aggressive," Cook said of the early hook. "When I got back in they ran a play for me and that got me off to a good start."

Cook, who entered the game averaging 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, bested his previous highs this season of 22 points against Michigan State and 10 rebounds against Southern Illinois.

"I think we're getting tougher on defense and we're playing more energetic," said Cook, who was 8-for-14 from the field. "I think we're all contributing more and concentrating more."

Williams, the reigning Big Ten player of the year, said the road wins are all part of getting it together at the right time of the season.

"We knew that we dug ourselves into a hole and we had to get out of it. Guys are playing more enthusiastic and guys didn't want to fail," he said. "We're constantly getting better and that's good because we're moving forward at tournament time."

Williams had 10 points as Illinois overcame a 13-2 deficit to tie the game 20-20 on his 3-pointer with 12:11 left.

Cook took over later in the half, scoring 10 points in the Illini's closing 21-6 run that gave them a 45-30 halftime lead.

Freshman John Allen led Seton Hall with 18 points, seven of which came in a 10-0 run that brought the Pirates within 50-43 with 15:12 to play. That would be as close as they would get the rest of the way.

"Cook and Williams are just tough matchups," Seton Hall coach Louis Orr said. "Our guys have to understand that when you play good teams there isn't much room for error. We didn't quit. We got beat by a better team."

Sean Harrington added 10 points for the Illini.

Andre Barrett added 16 points and seven assists for Seton Hall, which is winless in six games against ranked teams this season.

Pirates center Charles Manga had two points and two rebounds Saturday, coming off a 23-point, 15-rebound effort against Georgetown. He was overmatched against Cook and fouled out in just 16 minutes.

When Seton Hall closed within 50-43, Illinois went on an 11-5 run with all but two of the points coming on 3-pointers. The Illini finished 9-for-20 from 3-point range (45 percent), much better than their 33.9 mark coming in which was next-to-last in the Big Ten.

"I don't think the whole team can play at a high level for 40 minutes," Allen said. "I think we all play in spurts. I think every team in the country does. We just can't let the other team get a big spurt. We can't let them blow us out of the gym."