Champaign, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Malcolm Hill's career-high 28 points helped Illinois overcome the loss of Rayvonte Rice and upset No. 11 Maryland 64-57 on Wednesday.
Hill made four of Illinois' seven made 3s and finished 9-for-18 from the floor. Nnanna Egwu added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Fighting Illini (11-5, 1-2 Big Ten).
Rice, the leading scorer and senior leader for the Illini, was lost for 3-to-6 weeks with a broken hand.
Illinois trailed by two after 20 minutes of play but looked like a different team coming out of the locker rooms. Hill tied the game with a jumper for the first points of the second half, then hit a 3 before Egwu potted two free throws for a 33-28 Illinois lead.
After Jake Layman's 3-pointer at 16:07 ended the run, Illinois scored on six straight possessions to break the game open. Hill had a personal 7-0 run during the stretch, which Ahmad Starks capped with a 3-pointer.
The gap, which reached 15 points near the midpoint of the half, proved to be insurmountable, though Maryland made things interesting down the stretch.
Jared Nickens, Melo Trimble and Dion Wiley hit 3-pointers on three straight possessions inside the final minute and a half. Wiley's triple from the right wing at 39 seconds had Maryland within 58-52.
Trimble then drew a foul shooting a 3 and hit the free throws to draw the Terps within five, but Jaylon Tate and Hill both hit a pair of free throws around a Trimble missed 3.
Trimble led Maryland (14-2, 2-1) with 17 points and Layman had 10 in the Terps' first loss since Dec. 3.
Game Notes
Maryland has never started a season 15-1 ... Illinois had lost four straight home games against ranked opponents ... Starks scored all five of Illinois' bench points. Maryland reserves had 20 points, led by Wiley's nine.
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