The Northwestern men's basketball team was able to escape lethargic Piscataway, New Jersey, and fend off the scrappy Rutgers Scarlet Knights 69-60 Thursday night as they keep their NCAA Tournament dreams alive.
On a night that NU’s normally explosive offense was lackluster, it was the ’Cats defense late in the first and second half that cemented the victory. As a team, the ’Cats set a new single-game program record for blocks with 15, and eight of which were contributed by sophomore Dererk Pardon.
For a team that prides itself on hustle, early on NU (14-4, 3-2 in B1G) seemed to be a split-second slower to loose balls than Rutgers (11-7, 0-5 B1G) on both ends of the court. From the opening tip, Rutgers controlled the speed of the game and sprinted out to a 7-0 lead within three minutes.
On the flipside, NU could not find any offensive rhythm or flow in the first half. Guards Scottie Lindsey and Bryant McIntosh continuously had their drives to the basket either altered or blocked by an aggressive Rutgers defense. The ’Cats’ outside shooting woes returned, as they made just two three-pointers in the first half.
In arguably its worst half as a collective unit, the starters (McIntosh, Law, Lindsey, Pardon and Lumpkin) scored just seven combined points, with Pardon, Lumpkin and McIntosh all going scoreless.
The two offensive bright spots for the ‘Cats, however, in the first half: Isiah Brown and Gavin Skelly. Brown — who averages just under seven points a game — put the scoring load on his back with 11 points in the first half. On the defensive end, Skelly’s intensity and toughness helped generate some much needed momentum going into the half, as the ’Cats were able to cut into the Scarlet Knights’ lead and trailed by just three at halftime, 28-25.
Once the second half started, NU began to settle in and play like the NCAA Tournament-caliber team that it has shown the entire year. After a 12-foot floater in traffic by Bryant McIntosh, NU took its first lead of the game at the 17:20 mark of second half and never looked back.
Down the stretch, NU’s two leading and most consistent scorers — Law and Lindsey — shook off their first half slumps and took over the game with a variety of driving layups and difficult perimeter shots. Law led the ‘Cats with 23 points, while Lindsey chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds. Lindsey has now scored 10 or more points in 18 consecutive games.
Player of the game: Dererk Pardon
After not scoring a single point in the first half, Pardon impacted the game on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. For the game, Pardon logged eight points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes of play.
With the win, the ’Cats are now 3-1 on the road in B1G play. After a couple days off, NU will return home to raucous Welsh-Ryan Arena on Jan. 15 to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes and Peter Jok, the B1G’s leading scorer.