Alan Griffin set career highs with 24 points and six 3-pointers, Ayo Dosunmu scored 21 and Illinois beat struggling Northwestern 74-66 on Thursday night.

The Illini (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten) moved into a tie for second place in the Big Ten behind Maryland.

They took the lead with a big run in the first half and held off last-place Northwestern (6-21, 1-16) down the stretch to win their third straight since a four-game slide that knocked them out of the Top 25.

The Wildcats lost their 12th straight, their worst skid since they dropped 12 in a row during the 1999-2000 season.

Griffin played 21 minutes and made 6 of 8 from beyond the arc, including three during a three-minute stretch in the second half to help Illinois build a 16-point lead. The sophomore is averaging 13 points while making 16 of 30 3-pointers in his last six games.

Dosunmu made 7 of 12 shots and Kofi Cockburn finished 12 points and 14 rebounds.

In their third season under coach Brad Underwood, the Illini matched their highest conference win total since the 2008-09 team went 11-7 in Big Ten play on the way to a 24-10 overall record. The turnaround comes after they finished 14-18 and 12-21 in his first two years.

Pat Spencer led Northwestern with 18 points, and Miller Kopp scored 14. The Wildcats made just 5 of 20 3-pointers in remaining winless since they beat Nebraska at home on Jan. 11.

It was 51-44 midway through the second half when Griffin threw down an alley-oop dunk and Giorgi Bezhanishvili got credited with a put-back on a ball that Northwestern’s Jared Jones might have tipped.

Griffin made three 3-pointers in a span of about three minutes as Illinois bumped its lead to 64-48, drawing loud cheers from their orange-clad fans.

Dosunmu scored 13 in the first half and the 7-foot Cockburn dominated down low with 10 points and seven rebounds as Illinois jumped out to a 34-26 lead.

The Illini took the lead with a 21-5 run that Griffin started with a layup and finished with a 3-pointer to make it 29-16. Trent Frazier hit a runner to make it an eight-point game with 14 seconds left before Spencer missed a turnaround jumper.

The schedule takes a tougher turn for the Illini, with games against Indiana, No. 23 Ohio State and No. 18 Iowa before the Big Ten Tournament. They outrebounded Northwestern 42-29 and had 19 assists with just eight eight turnovers.

The Illini host Indiana on Sunday.