STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Remember all that offensive progress the Illini basketball showed the last few games?

Well, the Illini didn't appear to remember it Saturday evening.

Reverting to the same offensive difficulties that have plagued the team for much of the season, the Illini waged a sluggish battle with Penn State, losing 51-50 on a pair of free throws by freshman guard Talor Battle with 7.1 seconds to play.

"It's like we talked about all year - consistent inconsistency," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said.

Illinois had a final chance to win the game but didn't manage to get a decent shot.

With 7.1 seconds to go after Battle's go-ahead free throws, Brian Randle in-bounded the ball from beneath the Penn State basket. But he was forced to thread a difficult pass to McCamey, who tip-toed near half-court just to stay in-bounds.

McCamey flipped a pass to Shaun Pruitt, who tried to wheel into the lane and shoot. But from about 12 feet, Pruitt's on-the-run shot was an air ball that went out of bounds with 0.7 seconds left.

After the game, Weber lamented a defensive lapse that sent Battle to the free-throw line, and the execution on the final play.

Demetri McCamey's 3-pointer from the deep wing had given the Illini a 51-50 lead with 19.1 seconds to play. But Battle was fouled with 7.1 seconds to go and hit both of his free throws.

"We needed a shutout and we said not to foul anyone but (Battle) got by Trent (Meacham) and (Rodney Alexander) fouled him," Weber said.

"We still had a chance, but it was a mixup, a bad pass. Demetri was lucky to keep it in bounds. He threw it to Shaun and we were all yelling for a timeout, but Shaun went to the basket and we didn't get anything to go."

The stretch run was nice to see for Penn State coach Ed DeChellis as he tries to rebuild Penn State. DeChellis had said Battle's confidence was still a little shaken from missing two free throws with 24 seconds left in a 76-73 loss to Minnesota on Jan. 12.

On Saturday night, the coach said Battle asked for the ball on the deciding possession. The guard drove into the lane and drew the foul before hitting his foul shots.

"He's playing with a lot more confidence. He wanted it, he got it," said DeChellis. "He wanted the same opportunity again to show people what he could do."

Each team held five-point leads in a first half that ended in a 28-28 deadlock.

But Illinois did not score a basket for the first nine minutes of the second half and Penn State forged a 36-29 lead.

During those first nine minutes, the Illini had three free throws, were 0-for-7 shooting and committed five turnovers.

The drought ended when Alexander scored on a rebound to trim Penn State's lead to 37-33 with 10:51 to play.

"We shot way too many 3s," Weber said. The Illini were 6-for-23 from 3-point range. "We were not attacking their zone. Finally in the second half we got inside the zone but almost didn't finish. We missed a couple of dunks and had one blocked."

When Battle scored on a layup with 2:38 to play, Penn State owned a 50-46 lead.

But Randle scored under the basket to make it 50-48 with 1:22 to play and, after Stanley Pringle's pass went out of bounds for a Penn State turnover, Chester Frazier pitched the ball to McCamey, who nailed a 3-pointer to give Illinois its final lead, 51-50, with 19.1 seconds to go.

"We hung in there and kept battling and said, 'Just find a way to win it.' When you go on the road you hope you'll have a chance to win on the final possession. But we didn't get a stop when we needed it," Weber said.

Meacham led the Illini (11-15, 3-10) with 11 points and Pruitt added 10.

McCamey, who had shown so much progress offensively lately, had an off night, finishing with six points on 2-for-9 shooting.

Battle scored 14 points and Pringle added 11 for Penn State (12-12, 4-8).

Illinois returns home to take on Wisconsin at 8 p.m., Wednesday.