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Illinois 77, Iowa 66

Posted: Wednesday January 16, 2002 02:15 AM

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CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) -- Iowa's chances for a rare win at Assembly Hall evaporated in a two-minute stretch of the second half.

Robert Archibald started and finished a quick burst just after halftime as 10th-ranked Illinois continued its home dominance of No. 15 Iowa with a 77-66 Big Ten Conference victory.

Seeking their second win in the last 15 trips to Assembly Hall, the Hawkeyes (13-6, 2-3 Big Ten) sliced a 14-point deficit to 36-34 on a 3-pointer by Glen Worley 29 seconds into the second half.

But Illinois quickly regrouped. Archibald made 1-of-2 free throws and a steal by Blandon Ferguson led to a jumper by Brian Cook that made it 39-34 with 18 1/2 minutes remaining.

Luke Recker missed a jumper for Iowa and Cory Bradford connected from behind the arc. After a miss by Hawkeyes freshman Pierre Pierce, Archibald scored off a miss by Ferguson with 17:08 to go and the Fighting Illini had a 44-34 advantage.

Iowa got no closer than eight points thereafter and lost for the third time in four games.

"I thought we showed some toughness," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "We did a real good job of neutralizing their best players." Cook scored 21 points and Bradford and Frank Williams each added 16 to help Illinois (14-4, 3-2) extend its home winning streak to 27 games. Williams also had nine rebounds and seven assists.

"I have a lot of guys around me who know how to put the ball in the hole," Williams said. "You have to protect your home court. We did a great job against a great team." Recker paced the Hawkeyes with 16 points, Pierce finished with 13 and Reggie Evans was held to 12.

Iowa stayed close for the game's first six minutes, but two free throws by Archibald sparked a 7-0 run for Illinois. A layup by freshman Luther Head made it 19-9 with 11:43 left in the first half.

The Illini held the Hawkeyes to one basket over a three-minute stretch later in the half and took their largest lead, 33-19, on a 3-pointer by Cook with 4:09 remaining.

But Pierce scored five straight points as Iowa closed the half with a 12-3 and got within 36-31 at intermission.

Archibald finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for Illinois, which shot 48 percent (27-of-56), made 9-of-25 3-pointers and had a 38-31 rebounding advantage.

Chauncey Leslie chipped in 10 points off the bench for the Hawkeyes, who shot 55 percent (11-of-20) in the second half just to finish at 43 percent (23-of-53).