CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Malcolm Hill scored 23 of his 32 points in the second half to help Illinois hold off IUPUI 85-77 on Tuesday night.
Illinois (7-3) shot 55 percent from the field and 7 of 16 from 3-point range.
The Illini opened with a 10-0 run but committed eight turnovers, allowing IUPUI to rally to a 42-41 halftime lead.
Mike Thorne Jr. hit a jumper, Hill dunked and Illinois pulled ahead in the second half by shooting 60 percent from the field.
Leron Black scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He was a presence throughout the game, including a key rebound with 23 seconds left, despite battling foul trouble.
Matt O'Leary led IUPUI (3-6) with 25 points, shooting 7 of 15 from the field and 4 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Illinois will have the next few days off before entering the final stretch of its nonconference season when it plays Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon.
ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES
• The Fighting Illini improved to 2-0 in the series with IUPUI. The last contest between the two teams was on the same date 10 years ago (Dec. 6, 2006).
• Illinois shot 55-percent for the game and 60-percent in the second half, good for its second-highest field goal percentage in a half this season. The Illini set a season-best mark in the second half against NC State with a 67.9 field goal percentage.
• The Orange and Blue are now 6-1 when outshooting its opponent.
• The Illini held IUPUI to just 28 rebounds in the game, a season-low for Illinois opponents.
• Illinois has now shot better than 50-percent in all seven wins this season.
• In eight of 10 games this season, the Fighting Illini have shot better in the second half than the first half.
• Illinois is shooting 51 percent in seven games at State Farm Center (214-420), compared to just 38 percent in three games away from home (63-166).
• Senior guard Malcolm Hill scored a game-high 32 points in the win and moved up two spots to No. 16 on the Illini all-time scoring list, passing Jerry Hester and Frank Williams. Hill now has 1,441 points in the Orange and Blue.
» It was Hill's second 30-plus point performance of the season and sixth of his career, and also marked the 25th time in his career he scored 20 or more points in a game.
» After going 3-of-5 from behind the arc tonight, Hill has made 24 threes in 10 games. Last season, he hit 37 treys in 34 games.
• Tracy Abrams tied his season-high with six assists, his third 6-plus assist game of the season, and set a new season-high with four steals. He also inched closer to becoming the 49th player in Illinois history to score 1,000 points, finishing the night with 996.
• Leron Black scored 16 points tonight, his fourth-straight game with 15-plus points, and led the team with nine rebounds. He hit 4-of-6 FG and 8-of-9 FT on the night. The eight made FT is a new career high.
»In the last four games, Black is averaging 16.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and shooting 50% from the field (21-42).
