Box Score CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Norfolk State men's basketball team attempted to notch another historic victory over a national program, but No. 10-ranked Illinois survived NSU's upset bid and defeated the Spartans, 64-54, Tuesday night at Assembly Hall.

After the NCAA tournament win over No.3 Missouri last year, NSU came close to repeating that performance again on an ESPN3 national broadcast. Down by three at the half, the Spartans got to within three with just two and a half minutes left in the game. NSU, though, was unable to capitalize on its few late possessions, and the Fighting Illini made their free throws late in the game to pull away to the final 10-point margin.

Unlike the shootout win over the Tigers last March, in which both teams hit better than 50 percent, the Spartans (6-6) stayed with the Illini thanks to their defense.

Illinois (11-0) came into the game first in the nation in 3-point field goals per game and 14th in 3-point shooting, hitting better than 40 percent from long range. The Illini, though, hit just 6-of-23 from 3-point range, as NSU's aggressive, man-to-man defense forced Illinois to create shots by going to the hoop or settling for mid-range jumpers.

The Spartans held Brandon Paul, Illinois' top scorer averaging nearly 20 points a game, to just 14 points on 3-of-10 shooting. D.J. Richardson added 11 and was the only other player in double figures for Illinois, which converted on just 21-of-60 shooting (35.0 percent). The Illini had just six assists on their 21 baskets.

Freshman Rashid Gaston led the Spartans with 12 points and eight boards, while junior Pendarvis Williams tallied 11 points, all in the first half. NSU struggled on the boards, as Illinois held a 43-36 edge on the glass, including 17-9 on the offensive side.

After coming out of the half down by just three, NSU had to call an early timeout in the second half after the Illini stretched their lead to 10, 39-29. A couple of baskets from Gaston and two treys from senior Kris Brown sparked a 10-2 run that got the Spartans back to within two, 41-39.

An 8-2 Illinois run put the Fighting Illini back up by eight before Gaston hit a pair of free throws and converted a layup on an inbounds pass with less than 10 minutes to go. NSU held Illinois scoreless for three and a half minutes and cut the deficit to two before Richardson hit a deep trey with 6:27 left.

After junior Jamel Fuentes responded with a floater in the lane, neither team scored for three minutes before Richardson converted a pair of free throws. Gaston's layup cut the Illini lead to three, 54-51, with 2:30 left, but Richardson hit a baseline floater for a 56-51 advantage at the 1:53 mark.  Illinois sank just 16-of-27 from the foul line (59.3 percent) for the game but hit 8-of-10 in the last minute of play to seal the victory.

Fuentes had five assists, four points and three steals. Brown and junior Malcolm Hawkins each added eight points on the night.

Williams scored the first five points of the game to give the Spartans the early lead before Paul tied it up at 7-7 with a 3-pointer from the left wing. Illinois went up by five, 12-7, but senior Rob Johnson scored six of NSU's next eight points to put NSU back in the lead at the 11:27 mark. Brown extended the Spartan advantage to four on a reverse layup on a fastbreak nearly two minutes later.

Neither team was able to find the bottom of the nylon for a two-minute stretch before Joseph Bertrand awoke the crowd with a putback slam. Hawkins, though, drained a trey from the left corner and a free throw from junior Brandon Goode gave the Spartans a five-point lead with a little more than five minutes to go in the first half.

A 7-0 run by the Illini gave them a five-point advantage, 31-26, with 1:14 to go before intermission. Fuentes found Williams alone in the left corner on a cross-court pass, and Williams hit his third 3-pointer of the half to help NSU cut into the deficit.

Illinois hit just 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) in the first half, with Paul accounting for three of those treys and 10 of his game-high points all-together.

NSU will face its second straight ranked team on the road Saturday when the Spartans head to North Carolina State to take on the No. 25 Wolfpack at 7 p.m.