Northwestern’s dream season came to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 79-73 loss to No. 1 seed Gonzaga. But the Wildcats didn’t go down without a fight.

After looking outclassed and overwhelmed in the first half, Northwestern came roaring back from a 21-point, second-half deficit to cut Gonzaga’s advantage to 5 points with less than five minutes left. That’s when a blown call on what should have been goaltending against the Bulldogs’ Zach Collins turned into a four-point Gonzaga swing, and the Wildcats could get no closer the rest of the way.

Still, after trailing 41-20 with 18:32 left in the game, Northwestern outscored Gonzaga 53-38 from that point forward. After playing the first half on their heels, the Wildcats used an aggressive, swarming defense to generate nine steals and force 11 turnovers in the second period. Vic Law scored 15 points in the second half as the suddenly rejuvenated Wildcats gave the 33-1 Zags all they could handle.

Bryant McIntosh led Northwestern with 20 points and 7 assists. Law, who hit 4 of 6 3-pointers, was next with 18, while Scottie Lindsey added 12. Dererk Pardon had 7 rebounds to pace the Wildcats.

Nigel Williams-Goss led Gonzaga with 20 points, but just 6 of those came after halftime. He also had 8 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the Zags in both categories.

Here are our three pointers on the loss that ended Northwestern’s magic run with a record of 24-12.

A blown call was the turning point: Law threw down a vicious one-hand dunk to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 63-58 with 5:33 left and get the purple throng in the crowd roaring. After Lindsey blocked a Williams-Goss shot from behind, Northwestern had the ball, trailing by just 5.

McIntosh drove the lane and dumped the ball to Pardon, who went up for a dunk. His attempt was blocked by Collins, but Collins’ hand was in the cylinder, which should have resulted in a goaltending call and a basket for Northwestern. The referees didn’t see it, but several replays clearly showed the infraction. Goaltending is not one of the calls that are reviewable, so the call stood.

Northwestern coach Chris Collins went apoplectic on the sideline pleading his case and received a technical foul. Williams-Goss, a 90-percent free-throw shooter, hit both of the resulting free throws. So instead of Northwestern cutting the deficit to 3, Gonzaga pushed its lead back to 7 with 4:57 left.

The Wildcats didn’t get as close as 5 again until just 22 seconds remained. The NCAA issued a statement after the game admitting that the referees missed the call.

The first half was a disaster: Northwestern has only itself to blame for digging such a big hole.

The Wildcats simply laid an egg in the first half, shooting 1-for-11 on 3-pointers, turning the ball over eight times and producing their lowest point total for a half all season to trail 38-20.

Northwestern’s Big Three of McIntosh, Lindsey and Law combined to shoot 5-for-20 (25 percent) and score just 12 points.

Gonzaga, which shot 16-for-34 (47.1 percent), looked overpowering and Williams-Goss had his way with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

Northwestern’s offense looked stuck in the mud, settling for 3-pointers because players couldn’t get any penetration into the lane against Gonzaga’s superior size. Moreover, the Wildcats looked intimidated by the big, bad Bulldogs, and Northwestern’s NCAA dream seemed like it would end in a nightmare.

The Cats gave the Dogs hell in the second half: Northwestern looked like a different team in the second half.

The Wildcats were the aggressors, attacking the rim on offense and overplaying passing lanes to create steals on the other end. Northwestern’s suddenly swarming defense created transition opportunities on offense, before Gonzaga could set its stout interior D.

After an ice-cold first 20 minutes, the Wildcats’ 3-pointers finally started falling as they drilled 7 of 13 in the second half. Law hit 3 triples and Taphorn hit both of his attempts.

It was Northwestern that was in control over the final 18 minutes-plus, pushing the pace whenever possible, and the Zags who were playing not to lose. The Wildcats outscored the Final Four favorites 53-41 in the second half.

Gonzaga, however, managed to answer just enough of the runs with points of their own to hold off the surging Wildcats, who never were able to get over the hump and pull off what would have been the upset of the tournament.