HOFFMAN ESTATES - Jamar Smith has been lobbying harder than a Washington arm-twister with a fat checkbook.

Illinois' sophomore shooting guard has been telling anyone who will listen that the aches and pains from the high ankle sprain he sustained on Nov. 13 are long gone. "I'm fine. I'm ready. Let me play," is the message he's been sending coaches, teammates and passersby in the lobby of the team hotel.

"I sat in his room earlier this week, and he talked about how he wants to play so bad," teammate Shaun Pruitt said. "I knew it would hurt him (not to play) because he's from Peoria."

For a Peoria kid to be withheld from a game against Bradley, which is Peoria's school? That's an awful thought. So Smith kept on lobbying.

Smith's persistence and physical demonstration to the team doctors worked, and Saturday evening as Illinois began falling behind Bradley, Smith was inserted into the game. Scoring 14 points in 17 minutes, Smith was an unexpected difference-maker as Illinois rallied to turn aside Bradley 75-71 in the title game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge at the Sears Centre.

Smith survived a two-hour practice session earlier in the day, convincing coach Bruce Weber it was worth a gamble.

"I thought Jamar not only gave them a lift in production, but he was a steady influence out on the floor," Bradley coach Jim Les said. "You'd see him talking in huddles and at the free-throw line. You could see his calming influence.

"That's a young man who logged a lot of minutes last year as a freshman. He gave them leadership and a sense of confidence on the floor."

As is the case with Illinois so far this season, the game followed an all-too-predictable script. Namely, a slow start, wobbly free-throw shooting, clamp-down defense, steady rally and a host of different heroes.

This time, the Illini fell behind 34-23 with less than four minutes in the first half and trailed by six at intermission.

But the Illini held Bradley to just 39 percent shooting for the game and 37.9 percent from 3-point range, well below the team's obscenely accurate 51.6 percentage from long range.

"I thought we got out on them better in the second half, and I thought they got tired," Weber said.

"I think the question in my mind, and probably in a lot of people's minds, is who's going to make big shots, who's going to make plays, who's going to show leadership and toughness. Obviously we answered some of that."

Illinois offered up a range of answers.

Point guard Chester Frazier scored 10 points and had 11 assists with just one turnover. He was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and was joined on the all-tourney team by teammates Shaun Pruitt, who had 16 points and nine rebounds to just miss his third straight double-double, and Warren Carter, who had 17 points and eight rebounds.

Illinois chipped away at Bradley's second-half lead and finally inched in front on Smith's 3-pointer with 5:36 to play that gave Illinois a 58-57 edge.

Pruitt padded it to 60-57 with a pair of free throws, and right after Bradley's athletic big man Zach Andrews fouled out, Carter wheeled in for a basket and was fouled. He completed the three-point play and Illinois was suddenly ahead 63-57 with 4:03 to go.

That was enough of a margin for Illinois to work with, in part because it straightened out its poor free-throw shooting just in time. After going 1 of 8 from the line in the first half, Illinois made 15 of 19 in the second half.

Bradley (5-1) was led by Will Franklin's 17 points and 16 from Daniel Ruffin. But between them, they missed 21 shots.

So the Illini are 7-0, have now won away from the Assembly Hall and shown some toughness when faced with adversity.

But even though Bradley was unbeaten entering this game, cynics will say Illinois must still prove it can win against the big boys. That's the next step with No. 25 Maryland coming Tuesday to the Assembly Hall for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge before Illinois travels to Phoenix to take on No. 10 Arizona on Saturday.

On Saturday, it meant the world for Peorians Jamar Smith, Brian Randle (who did not play) and assistant coach Wayne McClain to beat Bradley.

On Tuesday, braggin' rights will be on the line for Chester Frazier. He's from Baltimore, "and beating Maryland would mean a lot to me."

Mark Tupper can be reached at mtupper@herald-review.com or 421-7983.