ST. LOUIS (AP) - As a timid freshman, Illinois forward Malcolm Hill wasn't sure he would be able to make much noise in the annual rivalry game with Missouri.
"I was 190 pounds and I thought, `there's no way I would be able to hang with these guys," Hill recalled.
Fast forward four years.
Now, a chiseled 225 pounds, Hill did more than just hang on Wednesday. He took over.
The 6-foot-6 senior scored 21 points, on 6-of-12 shooting, and Maverick Morgan recorded his second successive double-double to lead Illinois to a 75-66 win over Missouri on Wednesday night. Morgan hit 7 of 8 free throws and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.
Hill, a St. Louis-area native, fashioned his second successive strong performance against Missouri on the way to finishing his career unbeaten against the Tigers.
"It's special, it's awesome," Hill said. "Not too many people can say they went 4-0 against Missouri."
He had 21 points and five rebounds in a 68-63 win over Missouri last season.
This time around, Hill helped the Illini out to an early 15-5 lead and then played a key role in holding off a pair of Missouri rallies that trimmed the deficit to four in the second half.
Jalen Coleman-Lands scored 12 for the Illini (10-3), who have won six in a row overall and the last four in the border series.
Kevin Puryear led Missouri (5-6) with 17 points.
Illinois shot 61.5 percent in the first half on the way to a 39-29 lead.
Hill's second 3-pointer of the night put Illinois up 58-49 with just over 12 minutes left.
Missouri charged back to within 63-59 on a pair of foul shots by Reed Nikko. But Michael Finke answered with a free throw and a 3-pointer to push the lead to 67-59.
The Tigers trailed by at least six the rest of the way.
Illinois hit 10 of its first 15 shots to take control early as Missouri missed 10 of its first 12.
Illinois has won 24 of 36 games since the series was moved to St. Louis.
"I'm proud of our guys," Illinois coach John Groce said. "They showed some poise. We had some quality possessions down the stretch."
Morgan converted an old-fashioned 3-point play early in the second half to stretch the lead to 49-39.
"He's been a beast," Hill said.
Missouri managed to overcome a slow start with a solid second-half performance that impressed coach Kim Anderson.
"The first half they came out and punched us a little bit," Anderson said. "But I thought we played well in the second half."
Anderson was not pleased with his team's shooting. The Tigers missed 24 shots in the second half and have hit 41.1 percent or less in their last six games. He indicated that there might be some changes in the starting lineup around the corner.
"We're just not shooting the ball well," Anderson said. "When that happens, you've got to mix it up a bit."
Puryear agreed, "We got some good looks, we just have to knock them down."
UP NEXT
The Illini open Big Ten Conference play at Maryland on Tuesday, Dec. 27 (4 p.m. CT on ESPN2).
ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES
• Illinois won its fourth straight Braggin' Rights game over Missouri. Illinois is 31-16 all-time against Missouri and 24-12 against the Tigers in St. Louis.
• Illinois is 13-4 against Mizzou since 2000.
• John Groce is 4-1 against Missouri in his career.
• Illinois' 75 points tied for the most by the Illini against Missouri since 2005 (also scored 75 in 2008).
• Illinois won its sixth straight game, extending the team's longest winning streak of the season. The Illini have won six straight for the first time since November 14-28, 2014.
• During its current six-game win streak, Illinois is averaging 79.3 points (479) on 49.4 percent shooting (167-338), including 41.1 percent from 3-point range (46-112).
• Illinois finished the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 10-3 record.
• Illinois led for 38:48 of the game. It was tied for 1:12 and Missouri never led.
• Maverick Morgan had season highs in points (19) and rebounds (11) for his third career double-double and second straight (14 points, 10 rebounds vs. BYU). Morgan had one career double-double in his first 111 career games, before getting two in his last two games. Morgan's 11 rebounds was a career high.
• Malcolm Hill had 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting, his sixth 20-point game of the season and 26th of his career. Hill had 21 points and five rebounds in each of the last two Braggin' Rights games.
• Morgan (13) and Hill (12) combined for 25 of the Illini's 36 second-half points.
• Jalen Coleman-Lands led the Illini in the first half with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting including two three-pointers. He finished with 12 points.
• Illinois was 16-of-26 shooting as a team in the first half (61.5%), its best shooting first-half of the season.
