CHAMPAIGN, ILL. ? Bruce Weber knew his young Illinois team would have to play tight defense if it was to succeed against Georgetown’s ball-

control offense Thursday night. So the coach was standing on his broken left ankle early in the game, waving his arms and exhorting his players to stick to the Hoyas like glue.

It worked.

Georgetown missed eight of its first 10 shots, fell behind by 15 points and couldn’t recover, falling to the 11th-ranked Illini 58-48.

“The first half was as good a 20 minutes defensively as I’ve seen in a long time,” Weber said.

Dee Brown scored 16 points and James Augustine had his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Illini to their ninth straight win to open the season and their 26th in a row at home.

Illinois scored the first 10 points of the game and led 12-2 with 12 minutes to go in the first half. It proved too much for the Hoyas (3-2).

“We dug a hole that was a little too deep to dig ourselves out of against a quality team,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said.

Illinois' James Augustine, left, readies to shoot as Georgetown's Roy Hibbert defends during the first half of their game in Champaign, Ill. Augustine had 10 points and 13 rebounds Thursday in the Illini's 58-48 victory.

The Hoyas rallied behind Jeff Green, who scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half. They closed to 52-44 on Ashanti Cook’s three-pointer with 1:10 to go, but then missed three straight shots, were forced to foul and the Illini converted all six free throws before Green scored four points in the final seconds.

“We got shots,” Thompson said. “I think it was as much us as what they were doing. We were just a little slow to get going there.”

Illinois was only 9-of-25 from the field in the second half and finished the game shooting a paltry 32 percent. “It’s one of those games that’s a slowdown,” Brown said. “There isn’t anything you can do about that. Just find a way to guard and get stops.”

Weber, wearing a boot to protect the ankle he broke in a household accident Nov. 28, stood on the sideline nearly the entire game. He kept after his players as they struggled with their shots, shouting at them to go hard to the boards.

Illinois outrebounded the taller Hoyas 44-31 and had 21 offensive rebounds.

“The way we’re playing offensively any extra possession is so helpful for us,” Weber said.

Illinois’ Shaun Pruitt and Marcus Arnold held Roy Hibbert, Georgetown’s leading scorer at 16 points per game, to four points.

No. 9 Gonzaga 67, Washington St. 53

Spokane, Wash. – Adam Morrison scored 25 points despite strong defensive pressure and J.P. Batista added 23 points for Gonzaga (5-2), which was held 18 points below its season average.

Washington State (4-2), of the Pacific-10, has lost seven straight to nearby rival Gonzaga of the West Coast Conference.

The Zags have won 28 straight at home, the second longest streak in the nation. The Cougars fell to 5-107 all-time against teams ranked in the Top 10.

No. 3 Connecticut 78, Massachusetts 60

Hartford, Conn. – Rudy Gay had 17 points and nine rebounds.

Josh Boone had 10 rebounds and scored all of his 13 points in the second half and Rashad Anderson added 15 points for the Huskies (7-0), who avoided consecutive losses to the Minutemen.

UMass (2-2) upset the favored Huskies last year at the Mullins Center, giving UConn coach Jim Calhoun his only loss against the longtime rival. But a dominant UConn post, Anderson’s outside shooting and the athletic Gay were too much for the Minutemen, who have lost three of their last four.

No. 19 G. Washington 70, Florida International 45

Washington – Pops Mensah-Bonsu had 15 points and eight rebounds in his best game since returning from suspension.

Mike Hall added 13 points and 10 rebounds as GW improved to 6-0, its best start since the 1992-93 squad opened 7-0 on its way to the NCAA tournament’s round of 16. Omar Williams had 13 points for the Colonials, who pulled away in the first half while holding Florida International (3-3) without a field goal for 81â2 minutes.

No. 24 Arizona 75, N. Arizona 66

Tucson, Ariz. – Hassan Adams scored 21 points and pulled down two of his eight rebounds in the final seconds.

Freshman Marcus Williams had a season-high 17 points for the Wildcats (3-3), while Ivan Radenovic had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Kirk Walters added 13 points.

J.P. Prince, another freshman, had a season-high 10 assists, many of them at crucial points of a closer game than anyone expected.

The Wildcats have struggled this season, falling from No. 9 to 15th to 24th in the poll in successive weeks.