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LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- Frank Williams scored 22 points as second-ranked Illinois rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit for a 78-71 victory over stubborn Pennsylvania in the Las Vegas Invitational. Illinois (3-0) improved to 2-0 in the round-robin event and will meet Georgia Tech on Friday. Things did not look good for Illinois after the first half. David Klatsky's 3-pointer capped a 10-0 run that gave the Quakers a 22-10 lead with 11:07 left before halftime. Pennsylvania (1-1) held a 45-34 lead at halftime and Illinois starting center Brian Cook was scoreless with three fouls. "We got off to a slow start today," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "We took marginal shots and they made some at the other end. We were probably lucky to be down by 11 at the half." The Fighting Illini used a 12-2 run to forge a 57-57 tie with 11:05 left in the game, capped by a 3-pointer from Cory Bradford. "Bradford's three was a killer," Quakers coach Fran Dunphy said. "I think it was a methodical comeback." A dunk by Cook triggered six straight points that gave Illinois the lead for good at 67-62 before Andy Toole's 3-pointer cut Penn's deficit to two points with just under five minutes left. Cook had another dunk and a baseline jumper that pushed Illinois's lead to 73-67 with 3:25 remaining. "Cook made a big jump shot on the baseline," Dunphy said. Illinois outscored Penn, 44-26, in the second half and shot an amazing 71 percent (17-of-24) in the final 20 minutes. "We got the ball inside in the second half," Self said. "When things aren't going right, you need to know where to go to get a basket. By our shooting percentage in the second half, we were able to do that." Ugonna Onyekwe made 10-of-17 shots for 28 points to lead Pennsylvania (1-1), which upset Georgia Tech in its season opener. Onyekwe and Jeff Schiffner each made three 3-pointers in the first half but the Quakers made just 3-of-13 from beyond the arc in the second half. Robert Archibald and reserve Nick Smith each scored 11 points and Cook scored 10 second-half points. Illinois held a 34-26 rebounding edge, including 11 by Damir Krupalija. The Fighting Illini also benefitted from the offciciating as Penn was whistled for 26 fouls, leading to 32 free throw attempts. Williams made 7-of-10 and Archibald 5-of-6. Conversely, the Quakers had exactly half the attempts at the line of the Illini and made 11 foul shots. Illinois improved to 6-0 all-time against Pennsylvania.
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