EVANSTON-Finally, Northwestern was able to close out a tight game and get a win.
After losing five straight games, four of them by 5 points or less, the Wildcats were able to hold off a late Nebraska charge to post a 62-57 win. It was Northwestern's first Big Ten win of the season after four straight defeats.
But it wasn’t easy.
Northwestern played perhaps its best half of the season to build an 18-point late first-half lead and go into the locker room at halftime with a 42-27 advantage. But the Huskers flipped the script in the second half and pulled to within 3 points, 60-57, after a Cam Mack triple with 50.4 seconds left.
But a pair of Miller Kopp free throws with nine seconds left ended the anxiety and sealed the win.
Northwestern had four players score in double figures and wound up needing every point. Kopp led the way with 15 points, while Pat Spencer notched 14 points, AJ Turner 11 and Robbie Beran a career-high 10 to go with his team-high 10 rebounds.
Nebraska, meanwhile, was led by Mack’s 11 points and Haanif Cheatham’s 10.
Here are our takeaways from the victory that raised Northwestern’s record to 6-9 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten:
Northwestern’s offense hummed in the first half: Northwestern trailed Nebraska 9-6 after five minutes when the 3-pointers started falling and the Wildcats left Nebraska in the dust.
The Wildcats shot 52% from the floor, made 8-of-14 3s and outscored Nebraska 9-0 in second-chance points to take a commanding 42-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Spencer had 12 points and 8 rebounds to lead all players in both categories, and Kopp and Beran closed the opening period with 8 points apiece after shooting a combined 4 of 5 from long range.
The Wildcats committed seven turnovers – four from Spencer – but other than that, it may have been their best half of offense this season.
And sputtered in the second: All those 3-pointers that fell in the first half? They didn’t in the second as the Wildcats shot just 27% from the floor and a horrendous 2-for-15 (13%) from beyond the arc.
Not coincidentally, Northwestern’s offensive production fell commensurately. After scoring 42 points in the first half, the Wildcats managed just 20 in the second as Nebraska nearly pulled off the comeback.
The Huskers got the lead down to 6 with 2:28 left after a Kevin Cross 3. From that point, Northwestern missed a pair of front-end, one-and-one free throws and two open 3-pointers from the wing, one by Kopp, the other from Pete Nance.
But Nebraska committed a pair of well-timed fouls that enabled Northwestern to escape. The Wildcats didn’t really earn a win, but they did what they had to do to survive.
The Cats desperately needed to pull this one out: A home game against Nebraska, the only other Big Ten team with a losing overall record, figured to be Northwestern’s best chance for a conference win.
The Wildcats hadn’t tasted victory in almost a month (Dec. 15, against SIU-Edwardsville). More than that, however, it was the way the Wildcats had lost: they had played valiantly but just couldn’t close out tight games. Four of their five losses during their five-game streak were by five points or less.
On Sunday, while it wasn’t pretty, the Wildcats were finally able to notch the win in crunch time against the Huskers.
Beran took a big step: Northwestern spread out its scoring as several players came up with strong games. None, perhaps, more than Beran, a true freshman.
Beran filled the stat sheet and came up with several big plays. He fought inside for 10 rebounds, he swatted away a shot at the rim, he had a baseline drive to the basket for a reverse layup, he drove to the hoop for a left-handed layup, he hit a pair of well-timed 3s. He was aggressive throughout and put his full skill set on display.
The short-handed Wildcats needed Beran’s presence inside as Ryan Young scored just 2 points and Jared Jones 4, and he came through.
