After dancing and posing for photographs with his teammates at midcourt to celebrate a 70-64 victory against rival Missouri, Illinois forward Leron Black made his way to the stands. Surrounded by cheering fans and friends, he found a second thing to brag about Saturday night.
Black scored 20 points in the annual Braggin’ Rights series at Scottrade Center. After the game he scored another victory by hearing “yes” when he proposed to his girlfriend, Sheila Segura, in the stands.
“I’m blessed be able to be with someone to spend the rest of my life with,” Black said.
If the Illini had lost, Black said he would have waited to pop the question until Christmas instead of seizing the opportunity Saturday while both of their families were together.
Like Black, Illinois (9-5) didn’t appear to be in the mood for any more waiting.
After earning a reputation for giving away games down the stretch, the Illini needed some poise to win their fifth straight in the series against the Tigers (10-3).
They watched their lead fade from 20 points at halftime to four with less than a minute to play but managed to hang on this time.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Illini coach Brad Underwood said. “We haven’t been winning those games. We have not been making those plays. ... To find a way to win, I hope this gives our team a tremendous amount of confidence. I think this could be something we could really grow on.”
Illinois led 42-22 at halftime but missed its first eight shots of the second half, finally making their first field goal after more than 7 minutes had passed. They shot 3-for-18 after the break as the Tigers whittled their deficit to 66-62 with 26.4 seconds left.
Freshman Trent Frazier (22 points) scored the last seven points for Illinois, including four free throws in the final 30 seconds.
“Trent was huge,” Underwood said. “He played like a veteran for the most part.”
Missouri freshman Jeremiah Tilmon received most of the pregame attention. He originally committed to Illinois, but after the Illini fired John Groce he switched to the Tigers and their new coach and fellow East St. Louis native Cuonzo Martin.
Tilmon, who finished with seven points and seven rebounds, was booed by Illinois fans during pregame warm-ups and every time he touched the ball.
His presence didn’t add motivation, Frazier said.
“We were focused on winning this game,” he said.
The Illini forced Missouri into 16 of its 21 turnovers by halftime, converting them into 21 first-half points.
“I feel like we’re just getting better as a team,” Black said. “The best teacher is experience.”
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