CHAMPAIGN, ILL. ? For 30 minutes against top-ranked Illinois, Longwood looked like a contender, not a team with only one victory this season.

The Lancers cut a 13-point halftime deficit to seven Monday night and were down by eight, 73-65, when the Illini finally buckled down with 9:13 to go.

“We knew we weren’t playing with any energy, not playing hard, and they were just getting too many easy baskets,” said Deron Williams, whose three-pointer ignited a deciding 16-0 run to lead the Illini to a 105-79 victory.

The Illini (12-0) held Longwood scoreless for nearly four minutes and built their lead to 98-71 with three minutes remaining.

Williams led Illinois with a season-high 23 points and had seven assists. Offense wasn’t a problem for the Illini, who got 20 points from Luther Head, 16 from James Augustine, 13 from Roger Powell Jr. and 13 assists from Dee Brown.

But defensively, coach Bruce Weber said his team left too much to chance.

“We’ve got to click it in defensively. That’s what’s made us No. 1,” Weber said. “If we don’t click it in defensively, we’re not going to be No. 1 for very long.”

No. 19 Louisville 104, Morehead St. 40

Louisville, Ky. — Francisco Garcia scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the first half as Louisville made a season-high 14 three-pointers.

Louisville (9-2) scored the first 19 points, including eight from Garcia. The Cardinals made seven of their first 10 shots.

No. 22 Cincinnati 77, Miami of Ohio 53

Cincinnati — Eric Hicks had career highs with 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Bearcats. James White and Armein Kirkland added 18 apiece for Cincinnati, which improved to 10-0 for the second season in a row.