Northwestern went into the Rutgers Athletic Center on Friday night needing to rebound from back-to-back losses and five setbacks in its first six Big Ten games.

Dererk Pardon carried them early, Ryan Taylor took care of business down the stretch, and the Wildcats left Piscataway, N.J., with a sorely needed 65-57 win over Rutgers.

Head coach Chris Collins opted to go with a big lineup to start the game, with both Pardon and Barret Benson in the starting five, but the experiment ended quickly. Rutgers opened the game on a 7-0 run, forcing Collins to take a timeout and allow the Cats to reset.

It didn’t get much better coming out of the timeout as Northwestern racked up four turnovers in the first four and a half minutes. But after that, the Wildcats settled into a rhythm. A Taylor 3-pointer off of a nice Pardon pass was able to spark the team, leading to a 9-3 run that evened the contest.

It was a tight back-and-forth battle in the 10 minutes that followed, but Northwestern went into the break with a 33-26 lead thanks to 12 points by Pardon and a rare Benson 3-pointer.

Rutgers stormed back at the start of the second half with a 7-0 run that was aided by some sloppy Northwestern offense. But the Cats were able to weather the storm, expanding their lead to 10 points with 10 minutes remaining.

However, Rutgers charged back with a 10-0 run, tying the game at 49 with five minutes to go. Taylor hit two crucial 3-pointers in the last four minutes to extend Northwestern’s lead to 6, and the Cats didn’t look back from there.

Pardon led Northwestern with 17 points and 7 rebounds, and Ryan Taylor added 14, highlighted by four 3-point field goals. Collins gave Pete Nance and Miller Kopp the majority of minutes off the bench, and they rewarded him, putting up a combined 15 points on seven shots.

Freshman Montez Mathis was the driving force behind the Rutgers offense, scoring 16 points. However, the Scarlet Knights shot themselves in the foot from the free-throw line, converting on only 15 of their 25 shots.

Here are our three pointers on the win that raised Northwestern's record to 11-7 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten:

Pardon shined again: WildcatReport wrote on Friday morning about the need to get Northwestern’s all-time leader in field-goal percentage the ball more often, and the Wildcats answered tonight.

Pardon showcased his all-around game in the first half, hitting all six of his shots from the field for 12 points, to go with 4 rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.

Pardon guided the Northwestern offense all night, creating at the rim when he needed to, and passing to the open man when the double- or triple-team came. Rutgers did a better job denying Pardon entry passes in the second half, as he went 0-for-3 from the field but sank five free throws.

It’ll be important for Northwestern to continue to run its offense through Pardon the rest of the conference season.

Defense, defense, defense: Defense has become the calling card of the Collins era, and it showed on Friday night. Northwestern held the Scarlet Knights to 39 percent shooting from the field and 24 percent from behind the arc.

The Cats forced 13 turnovers and smothered the Rutgers offense all night, limiting the Knights' ability to keep any consistent rhythm going. The Knights were held below their season average in points, field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and shot attempts. It also helped the Wildcats overcome some sloppy play of their own, as they committed 14 turnovers.

When Northwestern plays strong defense, it allows the offense more of a buffer to find its flow, and that’s exactly what happened on Friday night.

Freshmen provided a spark: Outside of Pardon and Taylor, Northwestern’s starting five had an off night. Law hit just 2-of-10 shots for 6 points, while A.J. Turner missed all three of his attempts from the floor and was held scoreless.

Fortunately, freshmen Kopp and Nance provided the extra jolt that the Cats needed. The pair combined for 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting and converted all three of their 3-point attempts.

Collins trusted the duo with crucial minutes, and that pair and Anthony Gaines supplied 24 critical points off the bench.

If Kopp and Nance can continue to provide quality minutes and production off the bench, they will give a big boost to a Northwestern team facing depth issues.