Jan. 25, 2001

Box Score

By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Illinois admitted it was lucky to win.

Frank Williams scored 18 points as No. 7 Illinois, after trailing for 33 minutes, rallied down the stretch and beat Michigan 55-51 Thursday night.

"They did all the things you're supposed to do to win a basketball game," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "I just feel very fortunate to get out of here with a win."

Illinois (16-4, 6-1 Big Ten) won its fourth straight game and seventh of eight. The Illini are off to their best start in the conference since the 1983-84 season.

Sergio McClain made a 3-pointer to give Illinois a 47-44 lead with 3:00 left, which marked its first lead since the opening minutes.

"I was just open and you can't be afraid to take those type of shots in these type of situations," McClain said. "I took advantage of it."

Williams followed McClain's basket up with a layup, which gave the Illini a lead they were able to maintain.

Michigan's LaVell Blanchard scored 26 points after scoring a career-high 30 in the win over No. 21 Iowa on Saturday. Bernard Robinson added 18 points.

"It was a great opportunity, but we let it slip through our hands," Blanchard said.

The Illini played uninspired and seemingly without focus much of the night.

When Michigan led 33-24 early in the second half, Self designed a play during a timeout with 12 seconds on the shot clock.

The Illini never got a shot off or even looked at the basket.

"That's a sign of your guards not being with it," Self said. "We ran the perfect play, but we didn't throw the ball in the post. The ball is in Frank's hand with four seconds left and he throws a skip pass. He hasn't done that all year. That was pitiful execution."

Williams agreed.

"That was my fault," he said.

That was not the only example of the Illini's poor play. A fact that bothered Self.

"This team is so confident," Self said, "Sometimes it hurts them and backfires a little bit."

Michigan led by as many as eight in the first half and was ahead 26-23 at halftime.

Blanchard scored 16 of his 26 points in the first half.

Michigan, led by Robinson, got off to a good start in the second half.

Robinson made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Wolverines a 34-24 lead at the 16:04 mark and converted a three-point play a few minutes later to keep the lead at 10.

Illinois' Sean Harrington responded with consecutive 3-pointers to cut the deficit to six with 10:48 left. Harrington tied the game at 44 with two free throws with 3:48 left, and McClain's 3-pointer, less than a minute later, gave the Illini the lead for good.

"The kids competed really hard," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said. "We just didn't have enough to get over the hump. We just didn't make enough plays in the end."

The Illini did, but didn't gloat about the victory.

"We were very fortunate to come away with a win," Illinois' Brian Cook said. "We squeaked this one out and we're glad to have it."