Illinois 79, Vanderbilt 68

Published Dec. 14, 2009 9:38 p.m. ET

foxsports

Demetri McCamey scored 23 points and had five assists to lead Illinois past Vanderbilt 79-68 on Tuesday night.

McCamey buried a pair of free throws with less than a minute left that finished the Commodores. But his 8-for-10 shooting fired the Illini offense much of the night. He's averaging 12.6 points and 5.6 assists a game this season for Illinois (7-2).

The Illini rode the outside shot of 7-1 center Mike Tisdale and the passing and shooting of McCamey to a game-opening 9-0 lead and a 46-36 edge at halftime that the Commodores couldn't overcome.

Vanderbilt (6-2) was led by 12 points each from Brad Tinsley and Jeffery Taylor. Illinois limited Taylor, who is averaging 15.4 points a game, to just two in the first half.