Missouri erased almost all of Illinois' 20-point second-half lead, but the Illini canned eight free throws in the final 40 seconds to secure a 68-63 victory Wednesday night at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

Junior guard Malcolm Hill produced 21 points, and junior guard Kendrick Nunn recorded his first double-double with 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to lead Illinois (8-5) to its fifth win in a row.

Junior guard Wes Clark paced Missouri (5-6) with 21 points and four assists. Freshman forward Kevin Puryear added 12 points and junior forward Russell Woods grabbed 10 rebounds as the Tigers lost their third in a row.

Illinois built its lead as large as 50-30 on Nunn's 3-pointer with 16:13 to play, but Missouri proceeded to reel off 15 points in a row to restore the usual drama to the annual Braggin' Rights Game. Clark started the spree with a pair of jumpers as the Illini missed 12 consecutive field-goal attempts and two free throws.

Illinois finally broke its spell when Hill drove baseline for a layup with 6:52 left. He added a fade-away 3-pointer over the 6-foot-7 Puryear at the shot-clock buzzer to push the Illini margin to 55-47 with 5:17 to play.

Missouri answered with a Clark steal and dish to sophomore forward Jakeenan Gant for a fast-break dunk, and then freshman guard Terrence Phillips swished a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left to pull Missouri within 60-57.

The Tigers couldn't get closer as Illinois converted eight of 10 free throws in the final 38.5 seconds. Hill hit both of his attempts, redshirt freshman forward Michael Finke (16 points) connected on three of four during the same trip down the floor, and Nunn closed it out with three of four free throws.

During the opening 10 minutes, both teams struggled from the field before Illinois took control with a 27-9 run. Hill ignited it with a pair of layups while Nunn provided back-to-back breakaway slams followed by a jumper.