Cats rally in second half but come up short...as usual

This game had all the markings of a rout early on, as Illinois jumped out to an 18-point first-half lead playing on its home floor. But the Wildcats fought back, as they usually do, and cut the Illini lead to one in the second half.

And, as they usually do, they came up short.

Ayo Dosunmu, who had a subpar game for the first 38-plus minutes, hit two huge three-pointers in the closing 1:20 to spur No. 5 Illinois to a 73-66 win over Northwestern on Wednesday night in a game between teams going in opposite directions. It was the sixth straight win for the Illini, who are rocketing up the Big Ten standings, and the 12th straight loss for the Wildcats, who are sinking like a stone.

But at least Northwestern made this one a game in the second half.

Illinois took a 14-3 lead right out of the gate and the advantage grew to 25-7 after a dunk by Giorgi Bezhanishvili. Northwestern mounted a late 7-2 surge but still trailed 38-26 at halftime.

The Wildcats then caught fire in the second half and did some damage from long distance. After not hitting a three-pointer in 10 attempts in the first half, they nailed four at the start of the second to cut the Illini lead to 44-40.

After Illinois got the advantage back to double-digits, Northwestern went on another run, this one 11-0. A running hook by Pete Nance made it 60-59 with 4:44 left and set the stage for Dosunmu’s heroics.

Chase Audige hit three big shots for Northwestern down the stretch, but Dosunmu hit his three-point daggers on consecutive possessions to allow the Illini to escape with a win.

Audige led all scorers with 22 points, including three triples in the second half. Nance scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and pulled down six rebounds.

Big man Kofi Cockburn went for 17 and 10 to lead Illinois, while Dosunmu scored eight of his 13 points in the last five minutes of the game.

Here are our takeaways from the loss that dropped Northwestern’s record to 6-13 and 3-11 in Big Ten play:

The Cats showed their heart again: Northwestern looked completely outclassed in the first half, but in the second, the Wildcats mounted not one, but two big rallies to cut the lead to four, and then one, respectively.

The first one was a 14-4 run fueled by threes – two by Audige and one each from Anthony Gaines and Nance. But Illinois regained control and pushed its lead back to 12, at 60-48, with 7:22 left.

That’s when Northwestern took another shot at the Illini, going on an 11-0 streak to get the lead down to one. This one was led by Nance, who tallied seven of those points on a three-pointer, a pair of free throws and a running hook over Bezhanishvili in the lane.

But it was all for naught as Dosunmu’s big threes closed out Illinois’ victory.

Audige continues to impress: He’s still a little reckless at times and his shot selection leaves a bit to be desired, but Audige has been Northwestern’s best player for about a month now.

Audige scored in double figures for the fifth straight game and the sixth time over the last seven games. His 22 points were not very efficient, coming on 21 shots, but he was the only Wildcat who was consistently able to create his own shot. He went three of eight from long distance and also had five rebounds.

In crunch time, Audige went head-to-head with Dosunmu, hitting Northwestern’s last three shots over the final 2:27, including a contested step-back three-pointer.

In the first half, he threw down a monster tip-in dunk that seemed to light a fire under the Wildcats. Then, during the second-half surge, he hit two of the four three-pointers that got NU back into the game.

As the transfer continues to adapt to the Big Ten after a year at William & Mary, Audige looks like a star in the making for Northwestern.

The first half was not pretty: The last time these two teams played, Northwestern held a 15-point lead at halftime before Illinois outscored the Wildcats 53-13 in the second half for a 25-point win. Illinois picked up where they left off this time around and almost ran the Wildcats off the floor.

Illinois hit six of its first seven shots, including a pair of three-pointers, to race out to a 14-3 lead lead. The Wildcats then went into one of their patented scoring droughts, going almost seven minutes without a point as the Illini lead bulged to 18.

Amazingly, the Wildcats failed to record a single assist in the opening period while scoring 11 baskets. Illinois, on the other hand, had 10 helpers on its 15 first-half buckets.

The Wildcats also missed all 10 of their shots from beyond the arc, while Illinois went four for seven.

Berry’s back: Maybe the best news for Northwestern on this night was the return of Ty Berry. After missing two games because of the death of his father, it was good to see No. 3 back on the floor.

Berry came off the bench in the first half and looked a little rusty. He turned the ball over the first time he touched the ball, and then air-balled his first and only shot attempt, a three-pointer.

Berry played just four minutes and didn’t appear in the second half, but his return will help the Wildcats as they close out the season.