Jan 29, 2003

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By JASON STRAIT
AP Sports Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Cramped and dehydrated, Brian Cook was doubled over in pain. He couldn't sit up. He couldn't celebrate with his teammates. He could barely even speak.

After his effort in the second half against Michigan, it was no surprise.

The senior forward scored 26 of his 30 points in the second half - one fewer than the entire Michigan team - to lead No. 13 Illinois to a 67-60 comeback win.

"He left it all on the floor," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "That's what happens when you play 20 minutes and you play every possession like it's your last."

Because he did, the Illini (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten) were able to rally and snap Michigan's 13-game winning streak.

They trailed 47-39 with 9:07 to go when they went on a 16-6 run to take a two-point lead - their first since the first half.

After a basket by freshman James Augustine cut the deficit to 47-41, Cook was fouled by Graham Brown going up for a shot. After the call, a complaining Bernard Robinson Jr. picked up a technical foul - the second of the game for Michigan (13-7, 6-1).

It was costly.

Cook made all four free throws and scored nine straight points to bring Illinois within one. He then set up the go-ahead basket for Illinois on a lob down low to Augustine, who dunked it to give Illinois a 55-53 lead. The Illini led the rest of the way.

Cook scored 18 of Illinois' 22 points at one point in the second half and finished one shy of his career high.

"He was awesome. That's the best half he's played since I've coached him," Self said. "He did it when there was no momentum and the deck was stacked against him. He spun a negative into a positive."

Augustine finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Wolverines, who started the season with six straight losses. It was Michigan's longest winning streak since the 1987-88 season and pulled the Illini within one game of the conference-leading Wolverines.

Coach Tommy Amaker, who was called for a technical foul in the first half, said Michigan couldn't find an answer for Cook in the second half after holding him to four points in the first.

"Obviously, he was the difference," Amaker said. "He put his team on his back and they responded."

LaVell Blanchard scored 18 points for Michigan. Chris Hunter added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Illinois opened the game with six straight missed shots, and it didn't get any better the rest of the half. The Illini shot 25 percent in the first half, missing several dunks and layups.

The Illini also shot just 3-of-14 on 3-pointers in the first half, and one of those was by 7-foot-2 sophomore Nick Smith.

"The first half, we were terrible," Augustine said. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it. We didn't rebound, we didn't play defense, we didn't shoot well.

"Everything just didn't go well."

Still, the Illini took a five-point lead midway in the first half shortly after Amaker was called for a technical foul. An animated Amaker approached the scorer's table to protest a foul called on Brown, his second of the game.

Amaker thought the foul should have been given to another Michigan player and had to be restrained by his assistants after receiving the technical. It was his first of the season.

Amaker's outburst appeared to fire up his team.

Trailing 16-11, Blanchard and Hunter combined to score the game's next 13 points as the Wolverines held Illinois scoreless for over five minutes to take a 24-16 lead.

Illinois cut the deficit to 33-28 at halftime, but Michigan quickly got it back to double figures. After a pair of free throws by Brown, Blanchard caught a long pass from Daniel Horton in traffic and dunked it to extend the lead to nine. Brown followed that with a layup to give Michigan its largest lead of the game.