Feb. 3, 2002

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Illini Wrap: Part I - VIDEO | AUDIO
Illini Wrap: Part II - VIDEO | AUDIO
courtesy of WCIA-TV, Channel 3, Champaign

By JASON STRAIT
Associated Press Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Marcus Taylor carried Michigan State in the first half, and the Spartans managed to carry on without him down the stretch.

Taylor, Michigan State's leading scorer, left Sunday's game against No. 12 Illinois with a concussion after banging his head on the court in the opening minutes of the second half.

Adam Ballinger took over and scored 18 points for Michigan State in a 67-61 victory over Illinois that ended the Illini's 28-game home winning streak.

"That was as big a win that we've had in a lot of years. We just played as good defensively as we can play," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.

Taylor, averaging 15.3 points, finished with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting - all in the first half. The sophomore got tangled up with Illinois forward Lucas Johnson and fell hard to the floor and hit his head.

Izzo said was impressed with how his team responded in the closing minutes without Taylor, something the Spartans have had little success doing this year. Michigan State (13-8, 4-4 Big Ten) has lost five games this season by five points or less.

"You have to have players make big plays down the stretch and we had players make big plays. I think our execution down the stretch was the best we've had all year," Izzo said.

Trailing by two points with four minutes to go, Ballinger made 5-of-6 free throws and scored seven points in the closing minutes to seal the win over Illinois (15-7, 4-5).

The Spartans got 13 points off the bench from Chris Hill, and Alan Anderson added 11 points.

Michigan State held Illinois to 39 percent shooting, clogging the middle and forcing the Illini to take long shots they weren't able to make. Illinois missed its last eight shots and dropped its third game in a row.

"We got some wide open looks. Cory (Bradford) and Sean (Harrington) both had wide open looks and just didn't knock them down," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "We missed some good ones."

Frank Williams finished with 19 points and Brian Cook had 22 points for Illinois.

Illinois trailed most of the game - but never by more than eight points.

The Illini took a two-point lead with 4:37 to go when Williams hit an Harrington for a 3-pointer. The assist capped a run for Illinois in which Williams scored 11 straight points for the Illini.

The Illini's lead was short lived as Ballinger hit two free throws to tie the game and added a field goal to give the Spartans the lead for good.

"For this team, this is probably the biggest win all year. Down the stretch we had a lot of guys step up," Ballinger said. "I hit a few shots, too."

The Spartans led 36-33 at halftime. They went on early 10-0 run to take an eight point lead behind the 3-point shooting of Taylor and Hill.

Illinois got back in the game behind Cook. The 6-foot-10 forward scored 20 of the Illini's 33 first half points, taking a mix of mid-range and long jumpers over a shorter Michigan State. Cook tied his career-high for 3- pointers in the first half alone by going 3-for-3.

Illinois got little else from the rest of its starters, who scored a combined eight points in the first half. Michigan State held Cook to two points in the second half

"Obviously we've got to keep our composure," Cook said. "We got the lead, we just couldn't keep it. We had wide open shots and couldn't knock them down and they did."

Damir Krupalija of Illinois injured his left foot early in the first half after coming down hard after a missed shot. Krupalija, who had missed six games with the injury, also missed the rest of the game. Self said Krupalija would have the foot x-rayed after the game.

Izzo said he wasn't certain how serious Taylor's injury was, but his teammates hoped he could bounce back soon.

"We need him to get back. It would be tough to keep going without him," Ballinger said.