CLEMSON—Mike Tisdale hit the go-ahead jumper with 41 seconds left then blocked David Potter’s driving shot on No. 18 Clemson’s next possession as Illinois rallied from 23 points down for a 76-74 victory Wednesday night.The Illini (5-2) looked finished, down 51-28 early in the second half and with leading scorer Demetri McCamey saddled with three fouls and two points.But Illinois finally got going with a 35-10 run to move in front in the school’s biggest comeback ever. Demontez Still missed a driving shot at the buzzer for Clemson (6-2).Illinois broke a three-game losing streak in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.Mike Davis led the Illini with 22 points. He set a career high with 28 a year ago when Clemson defeated Illinois in a challenge game by the same score, 76-74.Brandon Paul had 20 points for Illinois, whose biggest previous rally came in 2000 when it came from 21 points down to defeat Seton Hall, 87-79.Still led the Tigers with 15 points. Leading scorer Trevor Booker had just three of his 12 points in the second half.Jerai Grant’s dunk gave Clemson a 51-28 lead with 19 minutes to go.Then Illinois got going. Davis had nine points and Paul and D.J. Richardson hit two 3-pointers apiece in a 35-10 run.When Paul stole Potter’s pass and went in for a layup, Illinois was ahead 63-61 with 8:47 to go.It’s the third time in the past four seasons Clemson has lost a sizable lead at Littlejohn Coliseum. In 2007, Virginia used a 19-2 run to win 64-63. Then last February, Florida State went on a 23-4 second-half spurt to beat the Tigers 65-61.The Illini, who lost their past two games to Utah and Bradley, were crisp at the start and hit their first four shots.They tied the game at 19 on Paul’s jam with 10:19 to go in the first half. Then it all fell apart for Illinois as Clemson closed the half with a 28-8 run. With the Tigers up 23-19, McCamey picked up his third foul and went to the bench.When 5-foot-9 Andre Young squeezed past Tisdale, Illinois’ 7-1 center, for a layup, a loud noise that sounded like a coach’s clipboard hitting the floor came from the Illini bench. Illinois coach Bruce Weber was quickly called for a technical foul by official Bryan Kersey.Weber was stunned.

“I didn’t do anything. What did I do?” he shouted as Kersey moved to the other side of the court.Moments later, Booker collected a loose ball and was yanked to the ground by Dominique Keller, who drew an intentional foul. Keller quickly helped Booker to his feet.When Booker made his free throws, Clemson was ahead 39-25. The Tigers eventually led 47-27 at halftime, a lead that seemed safe until Illinois’ second-half surge.

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ROSEMONT—Will Walker scored 21 points and DePaul used outstanding defense to overcome its own offensive woes Wednesday night for a 58-50 victory over Alabama State.DePaul (5-1) is off to its best start since 2003-04, when it also was 5-1 and went on to earn an NCAA tournament bid. The school hasn’t been back to the tourney since and was 9-24 last season, including 0-18 in the Big East.The Blue Demons shot only 36.7 percent but held Alabama State (1-4) to 32.7 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers. DePaul has allowed 54.8 points per game this season and went into Wednesday ranked 12th nationally in that department.Menji Mundadi scored 13 points for the Hornets, who had lost their previous three road games by a combined 100 points. Alabama State stayed in the game by outrebounding DePaul 42-31 and by going 13 for 14 on free throws.

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DE KALB—Bradley broke away from a one-point halftime deficit with two big runs in the second half to defeat Northern Illinois 63-49 on Wednesday night. Andrew Warren made 6 of 12 shots, including 3 3-pointers, and led the Braves (5-2) with 16 points. Taylor Brown was 7 of 11 and scored 15.Darion Anderson’s 18 points made him the only player in double figures for the Huskies (1-5).Bradley’s biggest edge came in shooting. The Braves sank 26 of 50 shots (52 percent), the Huskies just 18 of 53 (34 percent).NIU led at halftime 20-19. But at 17:49 of the second half, Brown’s layup started a 12-0 run that put the Braves ahead to stay 36-25.Tony Nixon’s basket cut the Huskies’ deficit to 40-34 midway through the second half, but Bradley responded with a 10-1 spurt that provided a 50-35 edge on Brown’s layup with 6:32 left.