CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Giorgi Bezhanishvili set the Illinois freshman single-game scoring record Saturday with 35 points to lead the Illini to a 99-94 overtime win over Rutgers at State Farm Center. Illinois won its third straight Big Ten game and moved to 4-1 in its last five games.
Bezhanishvili's free throw put Illinois up 93-92 in overtime, his jumper on the next possession made it 95-92 with two minutes left, and the Illini outscored the Scarlet Knights 4-2 from there.
Trent Frazier added 17 points and Ayo Dosunmu 12 for Illinois.Illinois was 36 of 73 from the field for 49-percent shooting, while Rutgers went 37-79 (51 percent).
Both teams kept pace in the first half, trading leads until Rutgers jumped ahead on a layup by Myles Johnson with 2:59 left before the break.
The Scarlet Knights led 45-42 at halftime.
Bezhanishvili broke Deon Thomas' freshman record of 34 points vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee set Dec. 3, 1990 behind a huge second-half effort. He scored 29 points after halftime on 12-of-13 shooting, 23 in the second half and six of Illinois' 13 overtime points.
It was the third consecutive win for Illinois (9-15, 5-8 Big Ten Conference), and the fourth in its last five games. The Illini beat No. 9 Michigan State on Tuesday.
Caleb McConnell led the Scarlet Knights with 25 points. Montez Mathis scored 17 and Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker added 15 each. Eugene Omoruyi grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Rutgers (11-12, 4-9).
TEAM NOTES
• Illinois won three straight Big Ten games for the first time since its four-game conference winning streak from Feb. 18-March 1, 2017.
• Illinois is 4-1 in their last five games and 5-3 over the last eight.
• Illinois tied a season high with 99 points (99 vs. Evansville 11/8/2018).
• Illinois' 99 points were the most allowed by Rutgers since Illinois beat the Scarlet Knights 110-101 (3OT) 2/3/2016.
• Illinois is averaging 80.4 points over the last five games (402).
• Illinois' transition game has produced an average of 18.8 points over the last five games (94).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Freshman forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili set the Illinois freshman scoring record with 35 points on 14-of-18 shooting. Bezhanishvili scored 29 points after halftime on 12-of-13 shooting.
• Bezhanishvili is averaging 19.0 points in home Big Ten games (6 G, 114 pts.).
• Bezhanishvili's 35 points were the most by an Illini since Malcolm Hill scored 40 points vs. Northern Kentucky 11/13/2016.
• Bezhanishvili has scored 20+ points four times, all against Power-5 opponents (Notre Dame, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Rutgers). The four 20+ point games is the sixth most by and Illinois freshman.
• Bezhanishvili was 7-for-8 shooting from the free throw line, a career-high for free throws made. Giorgi is 11-for-14 from the line in the last two games (78.6 percent) after going 1-8 (12.5 percent) in the previous two games.
• Sophomore guard Trent Frazier scored 17 points, including 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range. Frazier hit 5+ threes for the fifth time this season (6 vs. Gonzaga, ETSU and Missouri; 5 at Minnesota).
• Freshmen Ayo Dosunmu (15.2) and Giorgi Bezhanishvili (14.2) are currently 1-2 in scoring during Big Ten games for Illinois.
