No. 16 Illinois hung on to knock off Maryland 80-76 Friday in the third-place game of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden.

The Illini (4-1) led by four at halftime and answered multiple challenges from the Terrapins in the second half. Illinois led by double-digits for long periods of time in the second half, but couldn't deliver the knockout blow.

The Terrapins closed to within four with 1:27 to play, but missed three open 3-point shots down the stretch and couldn't get over the hump.

The Illini missed four straight free throws in the final 30 seconds that kept Maryland in the game, before freshman Brandon Paul hit two clinching free throws to put Illinois up four with six seconds to play.

Demetri McCamey continued his strong start to the season, scoring a team-high 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds for Illinois.

Maryland star forward Jordan Williams was hampered by early foul trouble and was held scoreless in the first half. He got things going in the second half and finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Terrell Stoglin came off the bench to score 17 points for the Terrapins, who suffered their second straight loss to a ranked team, after losing to Pittsburgh Thursday.

Illinois now has two winnable games against Yale and Western Michigan, before back-to-back contests against No. 8 North Carolina on Nov. 30 and No. 12 Gonzaga on Dec. 4.

Maryland returns home to host Delaware State and Maine, before taking on Penn State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.