Coral Gables, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Deandre Burnett scored 19 points and No. 15 Miami beat No. 24 Illinois 70-61 on Tuesday night as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Manu Lecomte added 15 points and Sheldon McClellan had 14 for the Hurricanes (8-0), who have won their first eight games for the first time in five years.
Rayvonte Rice had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Illinois (6-1) and Malcolm Hill scored 13.
Miami's largest lead of the game was 13 points at halftime following a 6-0 burst keyed by four points from Burnett.
Aaron Cosby opened the second half with a 3-pointer for the Illini to spark a 9-0 run that got them within three points.
Rice scored the last five of the flurry as Miami went four minutes without a bucket.
Lecomte's layup ended the drought and the Hurricanes gradually pushed their lead back to double digits.
It got as close as two with 10 minutes remaining before Omar Sherman's 3 and dunks by McClellan and Tonye Jekiri stretched Miami's advantage to nine with 7 1/2 minutes left.
It was never closer than six the rest of the way.
Miami shot under 38 percent for the game and fired up 30 3-pointers, making just nine. Illinois shot under 34 percent and also attempted 30 shots from distance, making only seven.
Game Notes
Miami took a 2-1 lead in the all-time series ... The Hurricanes will host Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday ... Illinois also plays on Saturday, when it hosts American.
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