No. 13 Illini survive scare against Northwestern, 73-66

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Kofi Cockburn scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help No. 13 Illinois stave off a late Northwestern comeback, beating the Wildcats 73-66. Illinois led by 18 points after Alfonso Plummer’s 3-pointer with 13:05 left, but Northwestern responded with a 19-2 run to pull within one point with 6:16 to go. The Illini turned to 7-foot center Cockburn for an answer and he obliged, scoring six straight points to make it a 61-56 lead with 4:19 to play. He scored the team’s final three buckets. Ty Berry came off the bench to lead the Wildcats with 16 points.