In front of a sold out Welsh-Ryan crowd Saturday afternoon, the ‘Cats tied the school record of 20 wins in a season, defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 69-65.
Point guard Bryant McIntosh played the hero, knocking down his only three-pointer down one with 58 seconds remaining. Scoring 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, McIntosh ignited the furious NU run late in the game.
Early on, NU (20-7, 9-5 B1G) dominated the Scarlet Knights inside the paint on the offensive end. Sophomore Dererk Pardon scored eight of NU’s first 10 points, including three dunks. Nathan Taphorn chimed in with two corner threes and finished the first half with eight points. At the half, NU held onto a narrow 39-36 lead.
The visitors from Piscataway, New Jersey, wouldn’t go down without a fight. Rutgers’ leading scorer for the season, guard Corey Sanders, helped to keep the Scarlet Knights afloat, scoring their first five points. The Scarlet Knights began to make their presence felt on the boards early on in the game. By the end, Rutgers had out-rebounded the ‘Cats 39-31 and scored 17 second-chance points.
Out of the locker room, Rutgers (13-15, 2-13 B1G) took it to the ‘Cats. Their 2-3 zone seemed to confuse the ‘Cats, forcing back-to-back turnovers and erasing a three-point halftime deficit within the first five minutes. Following an ensuing fast break layup by Deshawn Freeman, Rutgers regained the lead for the first time since the 10:25 mark in the first half.
“If you look at this team, [Rutgers has] been playing everyone tough this year,” said head coach Chris Collins. “I love what Steve [Pikiell] is doing with Rutgers.”
NU’s offense in the first 10 minutes of the second half was sporadic at best. An array of passes into contested passing lanes led to many of Rutgers’ fast break opportunities. Offensive production from Pardon in the post dried up and the perimeter shots were simply not falling.
As the second half progressed, fueled by a boisterous Welsh-Ryan Arena, the ‘Cats made an offensive push with six minutes to go. Gavin Skelly drilled a three-pointer from the right corner with 2:03 remaining to bring the ‘Cats within one. Not to be outdone, McIntosh delivered a go-ahead three from the right wing on the following possession that sent Welsh-Ryan into a brouhaha.
“With the three, I came down and coach was calling for a drag [screen], and they hard hedged it,” said McIntosh. “The guard wasn’t back exactly in time, and I had a little bit of space… As soon as I gathered the ball, I knew I hit it.”
Despite the loss, Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell had nothing but positive things to say about Welsh-Ryan and NU’s growth as a basketball program.
“I thought it was great college basketball game, a great environment,” said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. “[Northwestern] learned how to win. It’s a process.”
Northwestern’s first opportunity to set a new program record for wins in a season will come Tuesday night when they travel to Champaign, Illinois to take on the Fighting Illini. In the team’s last matchup on Feb. 7, Illinois edged the ‘Cats 68-61.