EVANSTON-After losing 10 consecutive games, Northwestern relied on dogged defense to break through against Ohio State, defeating the Buckeyes 68-50 at Welsh-Ryan Arena for its first win in 43 days.

The Cats limited Ohio State to 26.5-percent shooting from the field and 15.5 percent from beyond the arc, and had six blocks and seven steals to thoroughly dominate the Buckeyes, who were missing leading scorer Kaleb Wesson.

Northwestern raced out to a quick lead, scoring the opening six points before Ohio State got a couple free throws on the board. It took the Buckeyes nearly nine minutes to register their first field goal, after they missed their first 13 shots from the floor.

However, the Cats got into foul trouble early, a problem that has plagued them all season, and it allowed Ohio State to enter the bonus with over 10 minutes remaining in the first half and the double bonus with more than four minutes left.

Northwestern’s swarming defense, however, held Ohio State to 4-of-28 (14.3 percent) shooting from the field and 1-of-12 (8.3) from deep and just 17 points in the half. Northwestern's 12-point lead after the first half was the largest lead it held entering halftime since its contest with Chicago State.

Ohio State mounted a rally in the second half and, with just under nine minutes remaining, a Duane Washington 3-pointer cut the Northwestern lead to five. But that would be the slimmest margin for the remainder of the game as Northwestern went on a 10-0 run to build a 15-point lead with six minutes remaining, effectively ending any chance of a Buckeye comeback and putting Wildcat fans at ease.

Dererk Pardon led Northwestern with a 20-point double-double, adding two blocks and a steal as he dominated inside. Vic Law and A.J. Turner both had 10 points for the Wildcats, who shot 44.8 percent for the game.

Keyshawn Woods tallied 15 points for Ohio State, with Washington the only other Buckeye to enter double-digits with 11.

Here are our three pointers from a streak-busting win in Evanston that raised Northwestern's record to 13-17 overall and 4-15 in the Big Ten :

Impressive defense guided the Wildcats: Ohio State was held below its season average in nearly every offensive category. Entering the game, the Buckeyes averaged 70 points (they scored 50), 45-percent shooting (they shot 26.5 percent) and 14 assists (they had eight) per game.

“We've been a good defensive team [all season],” head coach Chris Collins said. “We got our hands up and did a good job tonight.”

Northwestern’s defense has indeed been its calling card all season, but it finally added an offensive component to a solid defensive effort tonight, and it resulted in a victory for the first time since topping Indiana on Jan. 22.

Ohio State sorely missed Wesson: The Buckeyes’ leading scorer and rebounder is the team’s most important player by a wide margin, and that was evident tonight.

Ohio State looked lost on the offensive end for the majority of the game, failing to establish any sort of rhythm. Wesson, who was sidelined due to suspension, had 22 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in the teams’ first meeting.

“We know we caught a break not having Kaleb Wesson in the game,” Collins said. “But sometimes that happens. They're a different team without him there.”

Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann also noted that without Wesson, Ohio State had “no answer” for Pardon, who dominated on both ends of the floor.

It feels good to win: This victory will be largely meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but come on, it’s nice to get a win once in a (very long) while.

It would have been wrong to send seniors Law and Pardon out without a win in almost two months, and it doesn’t hurt to build a smidgen of momentum to ride into Senior Night on Sunday against Purdue and then into the Big Ten tournament.

“Hopefully it'll give the guys some confidence,” Collins said. “Obviously, we're not where we want to be, but we can't look back. When you find a way to put 40 minutes together, people are feeling good, there's some extra pep in your step.”

This win won’t change Northwestern’s position in the standings, it won't get them out of the No. 14-seed game in the Big Ten tournament and it won't aid any postseason aspirations. But it's clear that snapping their longest losing streak in four years meant a lot to everyone involved.

Simply put, the victory got a very large monkey off the team's back.