Cats survive a dogfight
CHICAGO, Ill.-After two straight impressive blowouts, maybe Northwestern was due for another nail-biter.
The Wildcats, who battled foul trouble, turnovers, the absence of Vic Law and 2-for-17 shooting by Bryant McIntosh, somehow escaped Wintrust Arena with a 62-60 road win over DePaul in what head coach Chris Collins called one of the games he’s most proud of during his stint in Evanston.
“We had a lot going against us today,” said a relieved Collins after the game.
The Blue Demons did their part to gift-wrap this one for Northwestern, missing 15 free throws and failing to take advantage of 25 fouls called against the Wildcats, 10 more than were whistled against the home team.
Scottie Lindsey scored 25 points to pace the Wildcats, who got just four points but seven assists and no turnovers from Bryant McIntosh.
DePaul’s Max Strus won the Waldo Fisher-Frank McGrath MVP award for his sensational 33-point performance. Strus hit 6 of 12 3-pointers and accounted for 11 of the Blue Demons’ 22 total baskets.
Here are our three pointers on the Wildcats’ third straight victory, which raises their record to 8-4 (1-1 Big Ten):
Fouls were once again a storyline for Northwestern: The Wildcats have had foul problems all season and today was no different – especially with an official crew intent on calling fouls on defenders for the slightest contact, and sometimes even less. Gavin Skelly and Anthony Gaines both fouled out down the stretch and Lindsey played the final 7:37 with four fouls. With Law unavailable – he left with what Collins called an “upper body injury” after falling awkwardly on a breakaway drive to the basket in the first minute of the second half – Northwestern was seriously short-handed in crunch time. Collins was forced to give extended minutes to bench players Anthony Gaines (24 minutes), Jordan Ash (16) and Isiah Brown (11) and lauded all of their efforts. Brown scored five of his seven points in the second half, including a clutch 3-pointer. Fortunately for the Wildcats, DePaul failed to capitalize on the foul discrepancy, hitting just 9 of its 24 free throws. Collins said Law was also fighting a stomach ailment during the game but didn’t have an update on his status.
The first half was ragged: After a sloppy and whistle-filled first half, the Wildcats should have felt fortunate to be down just 33-28 at the break. Northwestern shot 37 percent from the floor and produced an unlucky and ugly pair of numbers: 13 fouls and 13 turnovers. Skelly was whistled for three fouls by the end of the half. DePaul, however, did its part to keep the Wildcats in the game, turning the ball over 11 times themselves and missing seven free throws. Still, the Northwestern defense that had looked so impressive over the last several games was tested by the Blue Demons, who attacked the basket relentlessly and wound up with 14 points in the paint. Strus, who hit all manner of shots from all over the floor throughout the contest, had 13 points to lead all scorers in the first half.
Lindsey hit the dagger down the stretch: Lindsey hit what DePaul coach Dave Leitao identified as the biggest shot of the game when he drilled a long 3-pointer, his career-high-tying sixth of the game, to give the Wildcats a 62-57 lead with 54.3 seconds left. With the shot clock winding down, he let it fly from a few feet beyond the top of the arc. He knew when he let it go that it was good, holding his position and saluting the crowd after it swished through the cylinder. Strus, though, came right back and was fouled on a missed 3-pointer with 35.3 seconds left by Gaines, who fouled out on the play. Strus hit all three free throws to bring DePaul back to within two, but those turned out to be the final points of the game. McIntosh bled the clock down to about 12 seconds on the ensuing possession before going into the offense and the Wildcats failed to get a good shot. Dererk Pardon was forced to take an off-balanced jumper that was blocked in the paint as the shot clock expired, giving DePaul the ball and a last gasp with 4.4 seconds left. The Blue Demons were unsuccessful in their attempt to get the ball to the red-hot Strus and had to settle for a drive to the basket by Eli Cain, who was just 1 for 10 from the floor in the game. His running floater over McIntosh fell short, clanging off the front of the rim to give the Wildcats the win at the buzzer.