Elder Illinois Takes Over Against UNC in 2nd Half

Cook scored 22 points and Harrington had a career-high 20 as the 25th-ranked Illini ran past No. 12 North Carolina in the final eight minutes Tuesday night and beat the Tar Heels 92-65 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Illinois (4-0) led 64-57 with 7:42 left and then took off, outscoring the Tar Heels 28-8 while sending UNC (5-1) to its first loss. North Carolina was coming off a championship in the Preseason NIT after defeating then-No. 2 Kansas in the semifinal game and Stanford in the final.

In a game featuring talented first-year players -- North Carolina started three freshmen and Illinois two -- the Illini's experience made the difference down the stretch.

Harrington shot 7 of 9 from the field, including 6 of 8 from the 3-point line, to give the Illini the boost they needed.

Cook was 8-of-12 from the field and had eight rebounds and added five assists.

Freshman Sean May led North Carolina with 21 points, sophomore Jawad Williams had 15, and freshman Rashad McCants had 13.

Harrington sparked an 11-2 second-half run, making a steal and driving layup and then hitting a 3-pointer as Illinois ran off to a 57-45 lead with just under 13 minutes left.

May, with his father, former Indiana star Scott May, watching from a seat several feet behind the Tar Heels' bench, then brought North Carolina back.

He worked inside and made three free throws and an easy layup to cut the lead to 58-52 with just under 10 minutes to go.

But Harrington, Luther Head and then Cook hit 3-pointers in a two-minute span, spurring a 15-6 spurt as the Illini broke away to stay, taking a 79-63 lead with four minutes left. UNC never regained its composure.

Harrington's 3-pointer and Head's spectacular dunk on a lob pass from Brown in the final two minutes of the first half helped the Illini take a 40-36 lead.

Things didn't look so bad from the start for the North Carolina. The Tar Heels didn't let the rowdy crowd at Assembly Hall rattle them and jumped out early in the game to lead 11-3.

Illinois finally caught up as Harrington's first 3-pointer gave the Illini their first lead, at 19-17, and they went on to build a late eight-point lead.

North Carolina rallied and evened the game on a 3-pointer by Jonathan Holmes before Illinois went up four at the half. As the final minute wound down, Illinois fans chanted, "Overrated," referring to North Carolina's No. 12 ranking released Monday.

Tar Heel coach Matt Doherty told his team, which hadn't experienced a loss yet this season, that there will be days like this.