Demetri McCamey scored a game-high 21 points, including nine straight during a key second half surge as No. 25 Illinois held off 24th-ranked Wisconsin 69-61 in a Big Ten Conference battle of Top 25 teams Sunday night in Champaign, Ill.

Illinois (12-3, 2-0 Big Ten) took the lead for good at 25-23 with 8:20 left in the first half on a 3-pointer by Bill Cole, who added 11 points for the Fighting Illini. Illinois shot a sizzling 66.7 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, but led only 37-34 at halftime.

Illinois equaled its largest lead of the second half at 53-42 before Wisconsin (11-3, 1-1 Big Ten) closed to 54-49 with 6:34 left before McCamey scored the Illini’s next nine points to put the game away. McCamey added seven assists for Illinois, which got a double-double from Mike Davis, who had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Illinois outrebounded the visiting Badgers 31-24.

Wisconsin, which had won three of its last four trips to Illinois, shot just 35 percent from the field, and only 29 percent from 3-point range (10-35). Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor led the Badgers with 19 points.