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EVANSTON – It was a dreamy comeback, and No. 22 Illinois drew on familiar experiences to complete an improbable 60-59 win against Northwestern on Thursday.

There was assistant coach Wayne McClain, who used fullcourt pressure defense to win three state titles at Peoria Manual. And as Illinois faced a 57-43 deficit with 5:56 remaining, McClain drew up "exactly the same thing" he used at Manual to reverse the momentum inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," McClain explained later.

And Bruce Weber, too, recalled a bigger stage, with a similar deficit, that Illinois was able to overcome. The stakes Thursday were hardly comparable to a 90-89 overtime win against Arizona in the 2005 NCAA tournament, but Weber enjoyed the final result no less.

"We rushed Coach Weber in the locker room, gave him a huge bear hug," sophomore Mike Davis said.

"We had an unbelievable comeback a few years ago in Chicago. That one to get to the Final Four was one of the most memorable," Weber said. "I've been in it 30 years now, and this is one I'll remember for a long time."

Another coach near the Illinois bench had seen this scenario as well. That man was Gene Pingatore, who coached Demetri McCamey at Westchester St. Joseph.

McCamey's 14-foot banked-in leaner from just outside the lane gave Illinois (20-5, 8-4 Big Ten) its first lead – and the win – with 2.9 seconds left against the Wildcats (13-9, 4-7). Pingatore said he's seen McCamey take and make the big shot "many times" before.

"The thing about it is, he wants the ball in those situations. It looked like no one else wanted to do it," said Pingatore, who sat behind the UI bench. "And you knew he was going to do it. You just knew he was going to do it."

McCamey said he practiced a similar shot with Weber during a Thursday morning shootaround. The Chicago-area native joked he had "probably about a hundred" of his people among a packed house of 8,117, including his mother, Sabrina Watson.

"We were thirsty and we wanted it more than Northwestern," said McCamey, who finished with a game-high 21 points.

Weber said the final play called for a pass to Davis near the basket. Apparently, McCamey had other ideas.

"He told me he was going to shoot it," Davis said. "He said, 'Screen for me, I'm going to shoot it.' "

Senior Trent Meacham had 12 of his 15 points during Illinois' 17-2 run that closed the game. That reversed a deficit that seemed insurmountable, even for a program familiar with these sorts of improbabilities. A number of past experiences seemed to carry them forward.

"I didn't know who was going to make the final shot, but I knew we were going to win the game," senior Chester Frazier said.

GAME 25 REVIEW

What happened
Illinois earned its first road win of 2009 by overcoming a 14-point deficit with 5:56 remaining. The Illini closed on a 17-2 run, capped with Demetri McCamey’s game-winning leaner, to beat Northwestern for the 25th time in 27 meetings.

What it means
Stuck in a road rut, the Illini needed a momentum-building triumph, and an improbable comeback qualifies. Illinois ended a four-game losing streak in road games and stayed in the hunt for a Big Ten title. Trent Meacham had 12 points during the clinching run.

What the Illini said
“I just hit a bank shot.” — guard Demetri McCamey

What the ‘Cats said
“You’ve got to give them credit. They came back and didn’t quit.” — coach Bill Carmody

What’s next
Illinois plays at Indiana on Sunday (noon, CBS). Just minutes after Thursday’s stirring victory, Mike Davis pointed out the Hoosiers recently won their first Big Ten game, so the Illini are up to speed. Indiana is 10th in the Big Ten in scoring offense and last in defense.