Nick Martinelli led four Northwestern players in double figures with 18 points as the Wildcats ended a three-game losing streak with an emphatic 70-49 victory over host Ohio State in Columbus on Thursday.
The Wildcats (14-13, 5-11 Big Ten) had lost six of their last seven games but rebounded to win their third consecutive game vs. the Buckeyes. It marks Northwestern’s first three-game win streak against Ohio State since 1966-67. Ohio State has lost three of its last four games.
K.J. Windham and Ty Berry each had 15 and Matthew Nicholson 10 for the Wildcats.
Micah Parrish scored 16 and Bruce Thornton 13 for the Buckeyes (15-12, 7-9), who shot 32.7 percent (17 of 52) from the floor and 19.0 percent (4 of 21) on 3-pointers. John Mobley Jr, who averages 13.5 points, didn’t get on the board until a jumper with four minutes left and finished with four points.
Northwestern blew a 20-point lead with 19 minutes left in a 68-64 loss to Nebraska on Sunday but learned its lesson and built a seven-point halftime lead to a 54-29 cushion with 11:23 left.
The Wildcats ran off the first 12 points of the second half until a pair of Devin Royal free throws with 14:44 to play made it 43-26. It took the Buckeyes nearly two more minutes to score from the floor on a 3-pointer by Parrish, but the damage had been done as their deficit eventually reached 28 at 58-30.
While Northwestern held a 31-24 halftime lead, it likely regretted that the margin was not bigger considering Ohio State’s lethargic performance.
Nothing epitomized that more than Northwestern taking is biggest lead of the first half at 27-17. The Buckeyes responded by turning the ball over on a shot clock violation.
The Buckeyes through 20 minutes had more turnovers (11) than made baskets (10). Thornton and Parrish combined for 20 of the hosts’ 24 points.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats showed balance. Without two of their top three scorers due to season-ending injuries to Brooks Barnhizer (foot) and Jalen Leach (ACL) — who combined to average 31.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists — the Wildcats had four players each score six points in the opening half.
–Field Level Media
