Trailing by 21, No. 9 Illinois Rallies, Beats No. 7 Seton Hall

Cory Bradford regained his shooting touch just in time Saturday for No. 9 Illinois.

Bradford, who was on the bench with foul trouble, watched as his teammates rallied and tied No. 7 Seton Hall, then he scored eight points in overtime of an 87-79 victory.

Bradford, who made only two of 12 shots and failed to make a three-point shot in regulation, made two in overtime to tie former Virginia Tech player Wally Lancaster’s NCAA record of 73 consecutive games with at least one three-point basket.

Illinois (7-2) rallied from a 21-point deficit late in the first half to force the overtime on the way to its second victory over a higher-ranked opponent. Marcus Griffin led Illinois with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

“This is one of the biggest, funnest wins I’ve ever been part of,” Illinois Coach Bill Self said. “Not very often does anyone come from 21 down against a top 10 team and get the win. It’ll do a lot for our confidence. We really needed to win a close game.”

Darius Lane led Seton Hall (5-1) with 31, and Eddie Griffin had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

“Illinois was too tough for us to handle at this stage in our season,” Seton Hall Coach Tommy Amaker said. “They were much more aggressive.”

Bradford’s three-point basket with 2:30 left in overtime gave Illinois a 78-74 lead. Andre Barrett’s layup pulled Seton Hall to 80-79 with 1:29 left, but the Illini made seven of seven free throws to secure the victory.

Greg Morton made two free throws with 22 seconds remaining in regulation to tie it at 68. Sergio McClain and Marcus Griffin each missed potential game-winners for Illinois in the closing seconds.