Down 23, Illinois rallies for improbable win at Clemson
By Bud L. Ellis
Ever need evidence that you should never turn off a game at halftime?
Presenting Illinois’ contest with No. 18 ranked Clemson Wednesday night.
Down 23 points early in the second half, the Fighting Illini ripped off a 35-10 run to cap the biggest comeback in school history, Illinois coming all the way back from a 51-28 deficit for a thrilling 76-74 victory at Clemson in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Everything that went wrong for Illinois in the first 21 minutes went right in the final 19 minutes. The Illini shot 60 percent in the second half, including 50 percent on 3-point range in the final 20 minutes.
Mike Tisdale’s jumper with 41 seconds left gave Illinois a 76-74 lead, and Tisdale blocked David Potter’s shot on the next possession to preserve the improbable victory.
Mike Davis led Illinois wit 22 points.
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Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 11:49 pm by bud
Tags: ACC, Big Ten, Clemson, David Potter, Illinois, Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale