Indiana Flies By Illini In OT

February 24, 1999 / 11:19 PM EST / AP

Indiana had not scored a basket in 12 minutes. It had squandered a 15-point lead and was down by a point. Luke Recker decided something had to be done.

So he hit two straight 3-pointers, and Michael Lewis followed with another 3 that helped the No. 20 Hoosiers beat Illinois 70-64 in overtime Wednesday night.

"It was important for somebody to hit a shot. It didn't matter who hit it. But somebody had to do something," said Recker, who finished with 22 points.

Indiana (21-9, 8-7) set a Big Ten record by playing its seventh overtime game this season. The previous mark of six overtimes was set by Ohio State in 1982. The NCAA record for OT games in a season is eight, held by three teams.

Damir Krupalija led Illinois (11-17, 3-13) with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

"It's very disappointing," Krupalija said. "Getting a victory here would have been huge."

Both teams shot very poorly from the field. Illinois hit 32 percent, while Indiana sank 27 percent.

"That's a record of a lot of bad shooting," said Indiana coach Bobby Knight.

The Hoosiers went 12 minutes without scoring a basket in the second half but took a 54-53 lead on three 3-pointers, including two straight by Recker.

The game was sent into overtime when Krupalija made one of two free throws to tie the game at 54.

Indiana took a 58-54 lead in overtime on consecutive baskets by William Gladness, but Illinois tied the game at 58, 60 and 62. Kirk Haston's basket and three Indiana free throws made it 67-62 with 38 seconds left.

Sergio McClain scored on a rebound to close Illinois within three, but the Hoosiers made three of their final four free throws to clinch the win.

A.J. Guyton added 18 points for Indiana, and Haston grabbed 13 rebounds. Victor Chukwudebe scored 13 points for the Illini.

After leading by five at halftime, Indiana scored the first 10 points of the second half, including two 3-pointers by Guyton.

But Indiana picked up its seventh foul six minutes into the half, and Illinois started making frequent trips to the free-throw line.

The Illini made 11 of 14 free throws in a 19-1 run that gave them a 44-41 lead with 6:28 left.

"Their zone was good. It made us tentative," Knight said. "It caused us to stand around a lot and not get things done."

The Hoosiers ended a 12-minute field goal drought when Recker hit a 3-pointer that pulled them within one. After Illinois stretched the lead back to five, Recker hit another 3-pointer to make it 53-51 with just under two minutes left.

"It was very disappointing losing a big lead, but when that happened we didn't quit. We could have hung our heads and just died," Recker said.

Indiana missed three long shots in a row and got the rebound each time before Lewis sank a 3-pointer to put the Hoosiers up 54-53 with 40 seconds left.

Krupalija's free throw tied the game a54 with 11 seconds left.

In the first half, Indiana used a 15-0 run, featuring back-to-back 3-pointers by Guyton, to take a 29-19 lead with 2:54 left in the half.