Another heartbreaker for Northwestern

EVANSTON-It’s been a tough December for Northwestern.

For the third time this month the Wildcats lost a heartbreaker, this time 76-69, in overtime, to Oklahoma.

The Wildcats last three losses have been by two points to both Indiana and Michigan in Big Ten play, and now this marquee matchup against the Sooners in extra time.

Simply put, they need to learn how to close out tight games.

“It's disappointing, it hurts,” said head coach Chris Collins. “We've had three of these.”

Thirty-eight seconds into overtime, Vic Law hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to give Northwestern a 69-66 lead. But that was all the Wildcats scored in the extra session as Oklahoma ripped off the last 10 points of the game to close out the win.

Law scored 23 points to lead all scorers, but it took him 23 shots to do it. He also led the Wildcats with eight rebounds and three turnovers. Dererk Pardon scored 15 points, 11 in the second half. Ryan Taylor added 14 points but hit just 2 of 11 3-pointers on the night.

Oklahoma had four players in double figures, led by Kristian Doolittle, who had 14 points, including six big ones in overtime. Rashard Odomes’ 13 points all came in the first half, while Christian James had 12 points and Miles Reynolds 11.

A scintillating Anthony Gaines-to-Vic Law alley-oop dunk sparked the Wildcats in the first half, igniting a 15-2 run to give them their biggest lead of the game at 19-8. But the Sooners came back, finding some offense from Odomes off the bench, and the teams went into halftime tied at 32.

Here are our three pointers on the game that dropped Northwestern’s record to 8-4 overall and 1-3 in games decided by single digits:

Taylor had a tough night: Not only did Taylor miss nine of the 11 shots he took from beyond the arc, but he missed the big one that would have won the game at the end of regulation.

With five seconds left and the score tied at 66, Taylor got an open look from the left side but couldn’t knock it down.

"If you would have told me that Ryan Taylor would have a bare-ass, open 3 to finish the game, I would've signed the contract," said Collins after the game.

Taylor went on to miss two triples in overtime as the Wildcats were outscored 10-0 to finish the game.

Taylor did have some moments. After missing his first four long-range shots, he hit back-to-back 3s to give Northwestern a 56-52 lead with 7:40 left. He then hit a big jumper from the wing with 1:43 left to bring the Wildcats to within 66-64.

But Taylor struggled at times with rotations on defense and took several of his 3s early in the shot clock.

Collins still expressed confidence in his shooter after the game.

“I want him to keep shooting,” said Collins. “I believe in the averages and things are going to turn.”

The Cats need to learn how to finish: “We've got to get better in those situations,” said Collins, referring to the end-games that Northwestern has yet to master.

Law, for his part, thinks the key is for the Wildcats “to get tougher down the stretch.” He harkened back to two easy layups by Doolittle and a couple offensive rebounds by Brady Manek in overtime as evidence to support his claim.

Collins used a short bench, with no substitutions in the second half. However, he didn’t think fatigue played any kind of a factor for his team in the closing minutes of the game or in overtime.

What did these tight losses teach Law?

“It’s something to think about during the break. It is what it is,” he said. “I think we should be winning these games. I think we should be 11-1....I'm very confident in my team.”

The atmosphere was worth $110 million tonight: The calendar may have said December, but there was a March feel inside the new and improved Welsh-Ryan as the teams battled down the stretch and into overtime.

It was an intense game, with players from both teams diving for loose balls and fans in the stands standing for most of crunch time. When Pardon two-hand dunked a Law 3-point miss with 1:13 left in regulation to tie the game at 66, the roof at the rehabbed arena seemed like it might break loose from its moorings.

Collins thanked the fans for what he called “a great atmosphere.” The game was an announced sellout despite the fact that students are now on winter break.

Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger, who was once the head man at Illinois and had played in the Wildcats’ former home several times, said the “fans were fantastic” and had praise for NU’s sparkling new building. He likened the atmosphere to a conference game.