National Basketball Association
Northwestern 69, Rutgers 65
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 18, 2017
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Illinois
Officials:
# Chris Beaver, # Bill Ek, # Paul Szelc
Attendance:
8117
By The Sports Xchange
Bryant McIntosh scored 18 points and Dererk Pardon added 12 as Northwestern rallied for a landmark 20th victory with a 69-65 Big Ten decision over Rutgers on Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
The Wildcats (20-7, 9-5) matched the record for most regular- season wins in school history that was set by the 2015-16 team.
Four players scored in double figures for Rutgers (13-15, 2-13), led by Corey Sanders' 17 points. Nigel Johnson had 16 while Eugene Omoruyi and C.J. Gettys each added 10 as the last-place Scarlett Knights suffered their fourth straight loss.
The Wildcats trailed much of the second half and twice got to within one point before finally going ahead at 65-63 on a McIntosh 3-pointer with 58 seconds showing.
McIntosh missed a 3 pointer with 16 seconds left but was fouled in a rebound battle and hit one of two free throws for a 66-63 Northwestern lead. Vic Law followed with a steal, and he was fouled with eight seconds left. He hit one shot to put the game out of reach at 67-62.
The game marked the return of Northwestern's leading scorer, Scottie Lindsey, who missed four games with mononucleosis. He played 24 minutes and collected six points and four fouls.
The lead changed hands six times in the first half before Northwestern went ahead 18-17 on Barret Benson's layup with 10:25 showing. The Wildcats led by as many as seven points on the way to a 39-36 halftime lead.
NOTES: Rutgers has just one Big Ten road victory after going winless on the road in 2015-16. ... The Scarlet Knights opened the season with 11 wins in 12 games before falling into a seven-game losing streak. ... Rutgers hosts Michigan on Wednesday, part of a three-game season-ending run at home. ... Northwestern set a school record and matched a Big 10 mark with 15 blocks in the season's first meeting against Rutgers on Jan. 12. ... The Wildcats' previous home win over the Scarlett Knights was a 98-59 decision on Feb. 27, 2016. The 39-point margin was Northwestern's largest in a Big Ten game since 1944. ... The Wildcats travel to Illinois on Tuesday.
Top Game Performances
Rutgers |
|
Northwestern |
Corey Sanders 17 |
Scoring |
Bryant McIntosh 18 |
Nigel Johnson 3 |
Assists |
Bryant McIntosh 6 |
C.J. Gettys 9 |
Rebounds |
Dererk Pardon 8 |
Nigel Johnson 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Bryant McIntosh 5 |
DeShawn Freeman 2 |
Steals |
Vic Law 2 |
Shaquille Doorson 1 |
Blocks |
Nathan Taphorn 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Rutgers
|
65 |
42.9 |
5-17 |
6-12 |
10 |
36 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
Northwestern
|
69 |
46.0 |
7-22 |
16-21 |
15 |
28 |
4 |
5 |
9 |