EVANSTON-Northwestern came back to Evanston looking to avenge its 2-point loss to Indiana in December, and the Wildcats were able to notch the win with help from an unexpected source in Aaron Falzon.
The redshirt junior, who had scored just six points all season, came off the bench to pour in a career-best 21 points, including six 3-pointers, to spark the Wildcats to a 73-66 win over Indiana. It was the second straight win for the Wildcats and fifth loss in a row for the reeling Hoosiers.
It was a sloppy start for Northwestern, who continued to struggle in the opening moments of games. The Cats converted only two of their first 10 attempts, putting the team in a 14-6 hole. A monstrous Dererk Pardon put-back dunk was the only bright spot in the first 10 minutes of the game, which saw the Wildcats score just 10 points.
Fortunately for Northwestern, its defense was once again able to keep the team in the game. However, Northwestern’s offensive catalyst was a bit of a surprise. Falzon, who entered the contest having played in just three games all season, connected on two 3-pointers to bring the Wildcats within one. A nifty Anthony Gaines layup then gave the Wildcats the lead at the under-4 timeout.
That lead would hold for Northwestern as it entered the break up by four points.
Northwestern came out firing in the second half, extending its lead to 7 before a Juwan Morgan and-one score brought the Hoosiers back to within four. But just as it seemed Indiana had a path back into the game, Falzon and Law converted back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Northwestern lead to 9.
The Hoosiers were able to get back into the game, cutting Northwestern’s 15-point lead to 3 in a five-minute span. They weren’t able to get any closer, though, as Northwestern was able to close out the game to earn its third Big Ten victory, its second straight, and arguably the most impressive one of the season.
Falzon paced Northwestern with those 21 points, and Dererk Pardon was his usual self, putting up 17 points to go with five rebounds and two blocks. In the process, Pardon joined Vic Law and Ryan Taylor as members of the 1,000-point club. Law and Taylor struggled to find a rhythm all night, combining to go 3-of-16 from the field.
Indiana had five players in double-digits on the night. Juwan Morgan led the way with 18 points, but Northwestern limited Indiana’s offense, holding Romeo Langford & Co. to 37-percent shooting from the field.
Here are our three-pointers from the win that raised Northwestern's record to 12-7 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten:
Welcome to the Fal-Zone: Despite his lack of playing time this season, Falzon gave the Cats the boost they needed in the first half. he paced the offense, nailing three of his four attempted 3-point shots. The buckets were extremely timely for a Northwestern offense that went 1-for-9 from beyond-the-arc outside of the 6-8 sharpshooter.
The second half was a similar story for Falzon. He opened the half with an emphatic block, a 3-point field goal and all three of his free throws on a 3-point shooting foul. Falzon then proceeded to draw a charge and knock down another 3 on back-to-back possessions. You can guess what he did with his next 3-point attempt.
Falzon led all scorers and had two blocks, but his impact on the game was immense beyond the stat line.
"You consider his journey and no one is more happy for him than me," head coach Chris Collins said. "He's in the training room, working religiously. I just kept telling him, 'there's going to be a night coming up, trust me.' His energy was a shot in the arm for us, he helped us get a huge win."
If Falzon can continue to give Northwestern quality minutes, he could find himself playing a bigger role off the bench , especially with Pete Nance out "for a while" with an illness, per Collins.
Once again, NU’s defense comes up big: Much like the Rutgers game, when the offense had periods where it couldn’t find its rhythm, the defense was able to pick up the slack.
In the first half, Northwestern was only able to score 28 points, short of its 35-points per-half average. Yet the defense stymied Indiana’s offense, limiting the Hoosiers to 24 , 14 points shy of its customary 38 points per half.
Further, Indiana was held below its season averages in points, field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage for the game. Northwestern forced 13 turnovers, blocked eight shots and got four steals. It was a thoroughly impressive night once again from the defense, especially for Anthony Gaines, who held Indiana leading scorer Romeo Langford to 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting, and just 3 points in the first half.
"We know they're a good driving team," Pardon noted. "We had to keep them off their favored hand, their favored move, we made it hard for them."
Time to carry the momentum: This was an important win for the trajectory of Northwestern’s season. Indiana came into the contest reeling, having lost its last four games. It was imperative for the Wildcats to be able to defend their home court, and they delivered.
The team now sits at 3-5 in conference and 12-7 overall, but there are ample opportunities to find more wins in the road ahead.
Northwestern has no more games against the top two teams in the conference, Michigan State and Michigan, but they will have chances to earn notable wins in games against Maryland, Iowa and Purdue.
"You like for it to springboard you with some confidence," Collins said. Pardon added that, "Every win is big for us, every win is a momentum booster to get into that next game."
