Unbeaten Illinois tops Musketeers at United Center

CHICAGO -- Dee Brown and James Augustine weren't about to let their last game at the United Center be a loss.

The two seniors scored 43 of Illinois' 65 points Saturday in leading the No. 12 Illini to a 65-62 win over Xavier and their 15th consecutive victory at their "home away from home" in Chicago. They had to rebound from a sluggish start and an early 15-point deficit.

"The fans here, we want to come out and play well for them," said Augustine, who tied his career high with 23 points. "We ended our career here at the United Center pretty well."

Brown scored 20 points and ignited a 15-4 run at the start of the second half that turned what could have been a rout into a close game.

"I ended my high school career here with a loss," said Brown, who played at Proviso East in suburban Maywood. "It's good to play here and continue to win. I love playing at the United Center."

Brown was only 1-for-5 before halftime, but he started Illinois' second-half charge with a pair of 3-pointers.

"The first 8 minutes of the second half, their pressure and their attacking style of defense really took us out of who we were for the first 20 minutes of the game," Xavier coach Sean Miller said. "We came unraveled, and that's because of Illinois."

Illinois improved to 7-0.

Justin Cage led the Musketeers (3-1) with 15 points. Brian Thornton, Xavier's leading scorer with about 20 points per game, finished with nine.

Thornton fouled out with 5:10 to go and three other players finished with four fouls.

"They are bigger than you realize," Miller said. "When our guys got in foul trouble, they weren't as aggressive close to the basket."