Wilcats edge Illini 68-66 on Turner three pointer with 10.1 seconds left.

Illinois Fighting Illini (2004 - 2013)
Northwestern Wildcats (1981 - Pres)

EVANSTON—A.J. Turner hit a 3-pointer with 10.1 seconds left to give Northwestern a 68-66 victory over rival Illinois on Sunday, the Wildcats’ first Big Ten win of the season.Vic Law had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Turner and Ryan Taylor had 12 points apiece and Anthony Gaines added 11 for Northwestern (10-5, 1-3).Ayo Dosunmu had 18 points and Adonis De La Rosa added 12 for Illinois (4-11, 0-4), which has lost four straight.Northwestern won last season’s meeting 72-68 in overtime. Illinois leads the all-time series 134-42.Giorgi Bezhanishvili gave Illinois a 66-65 lead on a follow basket with 1:31 to play. After each team had a scoreless possession, Northwestern got the ball back with 34.5 seconds to go. Turner missed a wild 3-point attempt with just under 20 seconds left, but Dererk Pardon grabbed the rebound and threw it back out to Turner for the game-winning basket.Trent Frazier missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer for the Illini.Following a slow start offensively, Northwestern received a lift when freshman Ryan Greer entered the game at point guard seven minutes into the game. The Wildcats rallied for a 24-16 lead with five minutes left before halftime and seemingly had taken control.But Illinois, after going scoreless for more than four minutes, closed the first half with a 15-1 run to take a 31-25 lead at the intermission.Law had just two points on 1-for-6 shooting in the first half. He finished 4 for 12 from the field with six turnovers.Illinois stretched its lead to eight points early in the second half before Northwestern rallied to tie the score at 42 on a 3-point play by Anthony Gaines with 13 minutes to go. Two minutes later, Law hit a pair of free throws to put the Wildcats back on top, 45-43.The game stayed tight the rest of the way.The Illini are solid defensively, but must develop more consistency on offense to win in the Big Ten.To be competitive in the Big Ten and have a shot at an NCAA tournament bid, the Wildcats need more consistent play out of Law. Also, the lack of a true point guard in the starting lineup is more apparent against quality opponents.NU hosts No. 25 Iowa on Wednesday night.Illinois is home to No. 2 Michigan on Thursday night