CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Devan Dumes gave Indiana a boost by making a shot from halfcourt at halftime.

Turns out, Illinois had a buzzer-beater of its own.

Demetri McCamey made a floater as time expired, giving the Illini a 72-70 victory against Indiana on Saturday.

The Hoosiers fought back from a 13-point deficit. But Illinois had the ball last, and McCamey came through.

“Most games, coaches can go back and look at buzzer-beaters where they’ve made a few mistakes that should have never got to that point. I’m not sure that’s the case in this game,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “They had the last possession, and they did something with it. Demetri made a tough shot. He had to change his shot. He made a tough shot.”

Instituting a bigger lineup, Indiana outrebounded the Illini 35-33. The Hoosiers also rediscovered their touch from the outside, connecting on nine three-pointers.

But there wasn’t an answer for McCamey, who finished with 19 points and eight assists.

“It was definitely a tough loss,” said Indiana freshman guard Jordan Hulls, who had 11 points. “We played hard, we fought hard, we executed. It was unfortunate he hit a tough shot at the end of the game.”

Mike Tisdale had 12 points for the Illini (14-8, 6-3 Big Ten). Verdell Jones III led IU (9-11, 3-5) with 22 points and five assists.

Jeremiah Rivers made two free throws with 22 seconds to tie the game at 70.

The Illini called timeout with 5 seconds left. They got the ball to McCamey, who split between Dumes and Jones and placed the running jumper just out of Christian Watford’s reach and in the basket. It was the only field goal either team made in the final two minutes.

“They did a good job of switching and forcing me to go to the basket. Once I got there, I just threw it up,” McCamey said. “The teardrop is a shot I practice every day. I knew it was good once it left my hands.”

Indiana had to work just to make it close. The Hoosiers trailed 28-15 with 5:29 to go in the first half. IU closed the half with a 16-5 spurt, capped by Dumes’ shot to tie the game at 36.

“That was great momentum into halftime. They were all very excited and never flinched when we got down,” Crean said. “That was the culmination of a very good comeback. It helped lead us into the second half to play at a very high level.”

The second half featured six ties and four lead changes, with McCamey making the most of his final chance.

“We had a pretty good clue on what they were trying to run,” Crean said. “We wanted to make sure we had the inbounder covered, and we wanted to make sure we got up in our men.

“We did. He had to turn a little bit and make a tough shot. It’s not a three-point game. It’s a best-shot game. There’s not a lot of things we would do differently in that situation.”

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