Feb 22, 2003

Final Stats

By JASON STRAIT
AP Sports Writer

CHICAGO - Roger Powell scored a career-high 20 points and Brian Cook had 13 of his 17 in the second half as No. 20 Illinois beat Northwestern 73-61 on Saturday.

Illinois (18-5, 8-4 Big Ten) defeated Northwestern for the seventh consecutive time and improved to 33-3 against the Wildcats (10-14, 2-11) dating to 1984.

Cook, the Big Ten's leading scorer at 19.8 points a game, got off to a slow start but made up for it during a crucial stretch in the second half.

After going just 1-of-3 from the field in the first half, Cook was more assertive after halftime. He scored the Illini's first basket of second half, then called for the ball each time down the court after Northwestern cut the Illini lead to six with 10:23 to play.

Cook scored 10 of 12 points, including an alley-oop dunk, for the Illini over an eight-minute span that saw the Illini extend their lead back to nine with 3:30 to go.

Cook finished 6-of-11 from the field and had 10 rebounds. Dee Brown had 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for Illinois, which shot 55 percent and finished with a 28-20 edge in rebounding.

Illinois coach Bill Self got his 200th win in a matchup that felt like a home game for the Illini despite being at the United Center in Chicago. Self has never lost to Northwestern.

Powell was starting his second straight game after coming off the bench the last 10 games while recovering from a toe injury.

The sophomore scored 11 points during a 22-6 run as the Illini opened a 31-13 lead. Powell also hit two 3s, tying a career high, and surprised Jitim Young from behind by blocking his attempted dunk on a breakaway.

Illinois shot 74 percent in the first half but saw its 18-point lead trimmed to 43-33 at halftime. Mohamed Hachad hit two 3-pointers and scored eight straight points for Northwestern during a 10-2 run that got it back into the game before the half.

Jason Burke led the Wildcats with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Aaron Jennings and T.J. Parker each had 13.

Illinois was playing without Luther Head, who has been battling a nagging groin injury that has kept him out of six games this season.