Nick Martinelli scored seven of his game-high 27 points in overtime to lead Northwestern to a 70-66 Big Ten victory over No. 19 Illinois before a sellout crowd on Friday in Evanston, Ill.
Brooks Barnhizer posted 17 points and nine rebounds while playing all 45 minutes for the Wildcats (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten), while Jalen Leach added 16 points and five assists. The Wildcats trailed 46-36 with 10 minutes to play in regulation.
Kasparas Jakucionis produced 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to pace Illinois (6-2, 0-1). He canned six 3-pointers in the game’s final 18 minutes. Tomislav Ivisic contributed 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists while Will Riley scored 12 points.
The teams kept trading the lead early until Riley delivered three straight layups to give the Illini a 26-20 edge, but Northwestern pulled within 27-24 at the half.
The Wildcats took a 34-33 lead on a Barnhizer jumper, but Illinois went on a 13-2 run to build the game’s biggest lead. Jakucionis’ 3-pointer with 10:11 to go pushed the margin to 46-36.
That’s when Northwestern got back in the game. Martinelli powered for two layups. Leach hit a pullup, Barnhizer sank a free throw and Matthew Nicholson made a foul shot to pull the Wildcats within 46-44 with 6:51 to go.
After Barnhizer rimmed a 3-pointer that would have claimed the lead, Jakucionis delivered another 3-pointer to snap Illinois’ 4:24 scoring drought. The Wildcats pulled within 52-50, but Jakucionis swished a high-arching 3-pointer over the 7-foot Nicholson with 3:03 left.
When Justin Mullins slashed for a layup with 1:11 to go, Northwestern pulled within 55-54. But Leach grabbed Ivisic deliberately with 56.8 left and he sank one free throw.
Barnhizer rubbed off a high screen and sank a 12-foot step-back with 41.6 second left to make it 56-56 — Northwestern’s first tie or lead in the final 16 minutes.
Jakucionis missed a step-back 3-point attempt with 15 seconds left and Northwestern opted not to call a timeout to set up the final possession. Barnhizer’s 3-point try rimmed off just before the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
Martinelli set the tone in the extra session by overpowering lighter defenders for two layups, and then he swished a 3-pointer with 2:21 left to give Northwestern a 65-61 lead.
–Field Level Media
