EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) -- Alan Griffin set career highs with 24 points and six 3-pointers, Ayo Dosunmu scored 21 and Illinois beat struggling Northwestern 74-66 on Thursday night.
The Illini (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten) moved into a tie for second place in the Big Ten behind Maryland. They took the lead with a big run in the first half and held off last-place Northwestern (6-21, 1-16) down the stretch to win their third straight since a four-game slide that knocked them out of the Top 25.
The Wildcats lost their 12th straight, their worst skid since they dropped 12 in a row during the 1999-2000 season.
Griffin played 21 minutes and made 6 of 8 from beyond the arc, including three during a three-minute stretch in the second half to help Illinois build a 16-point lead. The sophomore is averaging 13 points while making 16 of 30 3-pointers in his last six games.
Dosunmu made 7 of 12 shots. Kofi Cockburn added 12 points and 14 rebounds for Illinois.
Pat Spencer led Northwestern with 18 points, and Miller Kopp scored 14. The Wildcats made just 5 of 20 3-pointers in remaining winless since they beat Nebraska at home on Jan. 11.
It was 51-44 midway through the second half when Griffin threw down an alley-oop dunk and Giorgi Bezhanishvili got credited with a put-back on a ball that Northwestern's Jared Jones might have tipped.
Griffin made three 3-pointers in a span of about three minutes as Illinois bumped its lead to 64-48, drawing loud cheers from their orange-clad fans.
Dosunmu scored 13 in the first half and the 7-foot Cockburn dominated down low with 10 points and seven rebounds as Illinois jumped out to a 34-26 lead.
The Illini took the lead with a 21-5 run that Griffin started with a layup and finished with a 3-pointer to make it 29-16. Trent Frazier hit a runner to make it an eight-point game with 14 seconds left before Spencer missed a turnaround jumper.
UP NEXT: The Illini host Indiana on Sunday for Stripe State Farm Center (1 pm CT on Big Ten Network).
ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
• Illinois has won four straight against Northwestern now leads the all-time series with Northwestern 138-42 overall and 63-28 in Evanston after sweeping the home and away series this season.
• With the in Illinois is now 19-9 overall and 11-6 in Big Ten Play. Illinois owns the largest turnaround so far this season (+9.5) among schools from the six major conferences (12-21 last season to 19-9 this season)
• Illinois has 11 conference wins, its most since 2009 (11-7), and will finish over .500 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2010 (10-8).Â
• With three regular season games to go, plus the postseason, Illinois has exceeded last season's win total by 7 games and last year's B1G win total by 4 games.Â
• Illinois has won five Big Ten road games, tied for most in the league with Maryland.• Illinois out-rebounded the Wildcats 42-29, and now has out-rebounded its opponent in 21 of 28 games, and 12 times by double digits.
• The Illini out-shot Northwestern 47 percent to 41 percent and now are 17-1 this season, and 37-3 in the Underwood era, when shooting better than the opponent.
INDIVIDUAL NOTESÂ Â Â Â
• Sophomore Alan Griffin scored a career-high 24 points, hitting 9-of-11 field goals and 6-of-8 three pointers, while also pulling down seven rebounds. His previous career highs were 19 points, 8 made field goals and four three-pointers.
• Freshman Kofi Cockburn had his 12th double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. He extended his own Illini freshman double-doubles record.
• Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu continued his strong play, scoring 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while pulling down six rebounds and dishing out four assists. He has scored 20+ points in three of the last four games.
