Kofi Cockburn returns, leads No. 24 Illini past Northwestern

Kofi Cockburn returned from a concussion and scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead No. 24 Illinois to a 59-56 victory over Northwestern.

 Cockburn hit 10 of 17 shots and Illinois (15-5, 8-2 Big Ten) turned to Cockburn down the stretch. 

He scored 14 points in the second half. 

He tied the game with a short bucket with 2:25 to play and guard Da'Monte Williams' follow dunk gave Illinois a 55-53 lead with 1:34 to play. 

Pete Nance led Northwestern (9-10, 2-8 Big Ten) with 21 points.

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