Dec. 3, 2005

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CHICAGO (AP) - Dee Brown and James Augustine carried the scoring load and Marcus Arnold's inspired play off the bench late in the second half helped the No. 12 Illini rally from an early 15-point deficit to defeat Xavier 65-62 on Saturday.

Augustine scored 23 points and Brown had 20, but Arnold scored seven points and grabbed a pair of key rebounds. He tied the game 53-53 and then converted a 3-point play to give the Illini a 56-53 lead with 5:10 to go.

Xavier built a 19-4 lead and led 36-26 at halftime. But Illinois, which has now won 15 in a row at the United Center, came out of the locker room with a 15-4 run.

Augustine's 3-point play gave Illinois its first lead, 41-40, with 12:31 to go. Xavier scored six straight points and looked like it might take control again, but fouls got the Musketeers into trouble.

Their leading scorer this season, Brian Thornton, fouled out when he hacked Arnold with 5:10 left and three other players ended the game with four fouls. Thornton, who had been averaging 20 points, finished with nine.

The Musketeers were led by Justin Cage's 15 points. Justin Doellman scored 12 and Stanley Burrell had 11. Xavier shot 60 percent in the first half, but dropped off in the second half to finish with 48 percent.

Illinois had major trouble getting started in its first day game of the season. The Illini turned the ball over on their first two possessions and missed their first nine shots. Meanwhile, the Musketeers hit five of their first eight to build a 12-0 lead.

The Illinois offense was stagnant with Brown, McBride and Randle content to pass the ball around the perimeter. They wouldn't penetrate and were stymied by Xavier nearly every time they tried to pass inside.

Augustine made one of two free throws to finally put the Illini on the scoreboard with 14:25 left, but it would take Illinois another 2:56 to score its first field goal, a 3-pointer from Jamar Smith.