Senior guard Tre Demps swished 3-pointers on four consecutive second-half possessions to rally Northwestern to a 58-56 Big Ten victory over Illinois on Saturday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.

Illinois led 46-42 with eight minutes to play before Demps reeled off 12 points in 2 minutes, 24 seconds to deliver the ninth and final lead change of the second half. Demps and sophomore swingman Scottie Lindsey paced Northwestern (17-9, 5-8) with 18 points apiece.

Junior guard Kendrick Nunn paced Illinois (11-14, 3-9) with 13 points. Junior center Maverick Morgan and freshman guard Jalen Coleman-Lands added 12 points apiece.

Demps missed a harried 3-point attempt with 15 seconds left, giving the Fighting Illini a chance to tie or win on the final possession. Junior guard Malcolm Hill canned a game-tying 15-footer with 2.7 seconds left, but it was waved off when the officials signaled a foul - the sixth of the half - before Hill went into the action of shooting.

Hill collected the subsequent inbounds pass at the top of the 3-point arc, but he stepped on Northwestern forward Sanjay Lumpkin's foot, fell to the ground and turned over a pass as the buzzer sounded. Hill finished with seven points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, but the Big Ten's No. 2 scorer (18.9 average) failed to hit double figures for the first time in 30 games.

Both teams struggled to solve the other team's zone during a disjointed first half as Illinois claimed a 23-21 halftime edge despite shooting 28.6 percent from the field. Northwestern couldn't take advantage as it committed 10 first-half turnovers to complement 37.5 percent shooting.

The Illini and Wildcats heated up at the outset of the second half and traded the lead six times before Lindsey swished back-to-back 3-pointers in transition on feeds from sophomore point guard Bryant McIntosh (nine assists). That gave Northwestern a 38-35 lead with 13:26 to play and forced Illinois to take the first timeout of the half.

Lindsey owned 16 points in 18 minutes at that juncture, but he was blanked and the Wildcats managed just four points over the next 5:30 as the Illini regained a 46-42 lead. That's when Demps stepped forward and swished 3-pointers on four straight possessions to restore a 54-49 advantage with 5:30 to play.