Cats thump SIU-Edwardsville
EVANSTON-The Wildcats shook off a sluggish first half to pull away from SIU-Edwardsville and notch an 81-56 victory, improving their record to 7-1 for the first time in four seasons.
Alex Olah scored 21 points in only 23 minutes, dominating at times against a Cougar team that had no answers for the big man from Romania. Aaron Falzon pitched in 17 points, including some timely shooting from deep that helped jump-start the Wildcats' offense.
Neither team had anything going offensively in the first half, as both shot below 40 percent from the field. The Wildcats led 35-26 at the break but were able to quickly extend that lead behind some hot shooting from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats opened the second half by hitting five of their first six three-pointers, establishing a rhythm while playing stout defense. The Wildcats responded to a slow first half by shooting 67 percent from the field after the break.
Here are our three pointers:
Olah dominates down low: After some quiet games over the past couple of weeks, Chris Collins called Olah's number early and often, and the big man responded. Olah was responsible for 11 of the Wildcats' first 16 points (nine points and an assist out of the post), and he continually gave the Cougars problems when he was able to establish himself down low. Averaging only 6.4 shot attempts per game heading into Saturday's matchup, Olah had five shot attempts before the game's first timeout was called. He finished with 21 points (on 9-for-15 shooting) and eight rebounds in what was by-far his best game of the season. Collins said after the game he felt Olah had lost a little bit of confidence on offense, a statement Olah agreed with. The senior acknowledged that he often struggles during non-conference games, and that he decided he had had enough after the Virginia Tech game, so he came out with the mindset to dominate from the tip.
Falzon jump-starts the Cats from deep: The freshman from New Hampshire single-handedly injected some life into the Wildcats' shooting. Northwestern couldn't buy a jumper for most of the first half until Falzon changed things. Northwestern missed its first eight shots from deep before Falzon knocked down two threes at the end of the first half, one of which he hit while missing a shoe. His hot shooting continued after the break, as he opened the second half with three more threes in the half's first five minutes. Northwestern finished 9-for-22 from deep, following their 0-for-8 start, by making seven of their next eight attempts. Falzon had been in the midst of a minor shooting slump, as he had gone only 5-for-19 from three in his previous five games. He cooled off and missed his final four attempts but still finished the game 5-for-10 for 17 points. Nathan Taphorn went 3-for-4 from deep as well, combining with Falzon to hit eight of the team's nine threes.
Balanced contributions on both ends: Bryant McIntosh (11 points) and Tre Demps (seven points) did not do too much damage on the scoring front, but Collins' starting guards still managed to combine for 15 assists. The Cougars were in a 1-2-2 trap for much of the game and occasionally went with a full-court press during the first half. Despite the pressure, the Wildcats only committed 10 turnovers in the game, against 24 assists. Outside of three Demps turnovers, the duo did a solid job managing the game. Collins said he thought his team had the advantage at the center position on Saturday, and even when Olah was off the court, this statement held true. Joey van Zegeren had a monster night on the defensive end, recording five blocks to go along with six points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes of action. On one notable play, Cougar guard C.J. Carr got by van Zegeren with a behind-the-back pass, but the senior big man recovered nicely and blocked Carr's layup out of bounds. Van Zegeren again struggled from the line, going 2-for-7, including one attempt that only caught glass. On the day, the Wildcats made only 12-of-23 attempts at the line. Sanjay Lumpkin did what he always does, finishing with four points (2-for-2 shooting) to go along with a team-leading nine rebounds. Scottie Lindsey finished with four points in only 14 minutes of action, which Collins said was less of an indictment against Lindsey and more the result of Falzon and Taphorn having the stroke from three. Gavin Skelly had a relatively quiet night, although he had one of the night's biggest highlights on a strong right-handed dunk off a nice feed from Jordan Ash.