Northwestern outlasts Illinois
EVANSTON, IL.-Behind a vintage performance from Tre Demps, Northwestern shook off a rough shooting night to win a nail-biter over Illinois.
Demps -- and almost everyone on the roster, for that matter -- started the game slowly before coming alive to lead his team to victory in a back-and-forth shootout that was likely the senior guard's final game against Northwestern’s in-state rival. Demps shook off a one-point performance in the first half to score 17 after halftime, leading the Wildcats to victory in a tight contest that saw the lead change 14 times.
Scottie Lindsey poured in 18 off the bench for the Wildcats, making huge plays on both ends of the court in one of his best games in a Northwestern jersey.
Northwestern struggled shooting the ball once again, making just 34.6 percent of its 3-pointers and 42 percent of its shots overall, but it was able to score just enough in the second half to outlast a perimeter-oriented Illinois team.
Here are our three-pointers:
Tale of two halves for the offense: The first half was as ugly as it gets offensively for Northwestern, which shot just 9-for-24 from the field and 2-for-11 from 3. Demps struggled to get into any sort of rhythm, going 0-for-6 from the field including missing all four of his attempts from beyond the arc. If it weren’t for Lindsey’s eight points off the bench and some open misses from Illinois, this game could have been a blowout at halftime. The second half was a totally different story for the Wildcats, who matched their first half total of 21 points in slightly over 10 minutes of playing time. After shooting 18 percent from deep in the first half, Northwestern went 7-for-15 from beyond the arc in the second half. Demps had a flashback to two years ago, when he hit three 3s against a visiting Illini team ranked 23rd in the nation. On this occasion, he hit 3s on four straight possessions, helping convert a four-point deficit with 7:59 to go into a three-point lead with 5:35 remaining. Despite going scoreless after the break, Bryant McIntosh contributed five of his nine total assists after halftime. He did a solid job steadying a Wildcat team that turned the ball over only twice in the second half after coughing it up 10 times in the first. Alex Olah scored a quiet 10 points to go along with his team-high seven rebounds, although he made some key defensive plays down the stretch that won’t show up in the box score.
Bench comes up big: Lindsey had one of his best games of the season, scoring 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field and 4-for-7 shooting from deep. He had Northwestern’s only two 3s in the first half, making up for an off shooting night from Aaron Falzon and a cold start from Demps. Lindsey also had two assists and two blocks, none bigger than his rejection of Maverick Morgan with less than a minute remaining, which led to a fast-break finish by Demps to extend the lead to five. Gavin Skelly also had a solid night, scoring five points to go with four rebounds and two assists in 11 total minutes, bringing a nice boost of energy off the bench for Chris Collins. He and Lindsey kept Northwestern afloat in the first half, when the starters combined for only 11 points, all but one coming from Olah and McIntosh. Dererk Pardon only played five minutes, mostly due to picking up three fouls in the first half for the second consecutive game.
Defense does just enough: Northwestern’s defense struggled all night long to contain Illinois from deep. The Illini went 5-for-13 from beyond the arc and only 3-for-15 inside of it en route to a 23-point scoring output before the intermission. The second half was a different story for Illinois, which scored 12 points in the paint after scoring only four in the first half, to go along with five additional 3s. Northwestern’s perimeter defense looked much better in the second half than the first, but Illinois managed to knock down several contested 3s as their shooters were already in a nice groove by this point. Jalen Coleman-Lands had 12 points on 4-for-9 3-point shooting, while Kendrick Nunn poured in 13 including a clutch 3 to cut a five-point lead to two with under a minute remaining. With a chance to tie or win the game, Illinois brought the ball up looking to get Nunn a shot, but McIntosh took a smart foul with 2.7 seconds left and Northwestern not yet in the bonus. After receiving the ball at the top of the key Malcolm Hill could not get a shot off against stout defense from Sanjay Lumpkin, securing the victory for Northwestern. Hill was averaging 18.9 points per game, good for second in the conference, but a good game plan from Northwestern's permitter kept him in check with seven points on 2-for-8 shooting.