Rapid Reaction: Northwestern outwears UIC for an 83-74 win

It took a half for Northwestern to find its offensive juices.

This one couldn’t have been more different that Northwestern’s home opener, but the ‘Cats nonetheless got across the finish line.

After a blowout victory that saw the ‘Cats ahead wire-to-wire, many expected much of the same at home against another mid-major opponent. UIC had other plans, however, keeping the game within single digits nearly the entire 40 minutes. Despite a slow start from the Wildcats, they were ultimately able to pick up their second win of the year and stay undefeated in Welsh-Ryan Arena.

In a back-and-forth struggle for NU, it was a day headlined by the veterans. Coming off of Big Ten Player of the Week honors, Nick Martinelli stayed hot with a 27-point effort in 34 minutes of action. Fifth-year guards Jalen Leach (16 points and three assists) and Ty Berry (13 points, 3-for-5 from three) played their parts as well, both notching their season-highs in points.

For the Flames, Javon Jackson led UIC with 17 points while Saša Ciani poured in 15 of his own. Ciani also grabbed 8 rebounds, tied for the team lead with Modestas Klanceris.

The Wildcats looked to get back in the win column after a tough loss to Dayton away from home. After winning the tip, the Wildcats wasted no time to get on the scoreboard. A beautiful curl from Ty Berry set up an alley-oop to Matt Nicholson that he hammered down with ease.

A turnover and subsequent lay-in from Nicholson put the momentum in Northwestern’s favor early, but UIC wouldn’t go away that fast. A top-of-the-key three from Filip Skobalj and fast break layup from Javon Jackson put the Flames ahead momentarily. Northwestern took back the lead before Ciani split two free throws, knotting things at six heading into the first media timeout.

Breakout stars Luke Hunger and Angelo Ciaravino saw their first action coming out of the timeout, but scoring came to a standstill with both teams missing some easy looks. The lid would stay on the basket for nearly four minutes until Joshua Reaves finally broke the ice, splashing two beautiful three-pointers to put UIC up six. Nick Martinelli broke the Wildcats’ drought, bullying his way into the paint for an easy lay, but the ‘Cats still trailed 12-8 with just under 12 minutes to go in the half.

Berry came through in a big way to open things up, hitting a fadeaway three from the wing to get the offensive juices flowing. Northwestern also continued to have its way in the paint, exploiting UIC’s small-ball lineup to get Nicholson another easy mismatch and thunderous dunk. A pair of Ciaravino free throws gave Northwestern its first lead in nearly eight minutes, and both offenses seemed to spring open from there: a tip-in from Ciani was responded with a Martinelli triple, followed by a fast break blunder from the Wildcats, where Big Matt was blocked by the rim on a perfectly placed alley-oop. Despite the chaos, it was still tied 18-18 by the time the under-eight media break arrived.

Baskets continued to be traded, with UIC getting its offense moving with great ball movement and paint touches. For the ‘Cats, Martinelli continued to carve out his superstar role, taking over with five straight points. The Flames would not quit, continuing to attack the paint and draw fouls, putting both Martinelli (two fouls) and Jalen Leach (three) in trouble early. Outside of the 6-foot-7 junior, the Wildcats just couldn’t get it together, missing good looks in tight time and again.

Northwestern’s issues were not solved by the under-four timeout, either. Despite its best efforts to get the ball in Berry’s hands to get things going again, the Wildcats managed just one field goal (on the final possession) in the final five-and-a-half minutes of the half. Defensively, the ‘Cats were able to force 10 turnovers, but guards Jackson and Ahmad Henderson II weaved through NU’s swiss-cheese defense with ease to give the Flames a good look nearly every possession. A layup off contact from Ciaravino pushed the lead to four, but the Flames responded with a last-second Ciani floater to make it a 31-29 Northwestern lead at the half.

The opening of the second frame was much of the same, as UIC got Ciani another open look in the paint for an and-one reverse lay. The first basket, however, was followed by a more on-brand Northwestern intensity. Martinelli shouldered his way for a tough two, before Leach finally got on the board with a smooth jumper from beyond the arc. Down low, though, the ‘Cats were still getting out-toughed, down 26-19 in the rebounding battle with just one true big man on-court. More fluid guard play and another four forced turnovers helped Northwestern open a 39-33 lead with 16 minutes left to play.

A breakout half continued for the Fairfield transfer, getting to his spots near the top of the key and the elbow in isolation, tacking on 10 points before the under-12 timeout. UIC stayed competitive, cashing in on three open looks from deep due to late Northwestern rotations. Martinelli remained rock-solid offensively, doing everything for the ‘Cats — including a pair of contested jumpers and a beautiful around-the-back pass to an open Berry for the trey, stretching the lead to 10 for the first time that night.

Northwestern came out of the break facing a new challenge: a full-court press. The Wildcats made easy work breaking it, getting open looks for K.J. Windham and Luke Hunger from the jump. The defense sent help for Hunger and Nicholson down low in isolation situations, but quicker rotations prevented UIC from getting a clean look for much of the next few minutes. Berry led the way in a much-improved three-point shooting effort, knocking down a pair of triples as part of a 5-for-7 second half for the team, and extending the Wildcat lead to 58-46 with just under eight minutes left.

After handling the press for the first few minutes, Northwestern got sloppy, much to the dismay of coach Chris Collins. The Wildcats gave the ball away in three straight possessions, and UIC capitalized, as a big Skobalj three cut the lead back down to just seven. With the Flames seemingly having all the momentum, NU’s leaders stepped up big, as second-half heroes Martinelli and Leach hit two huge stepback threes to put the ‘Cats ahead 65-52.

Northwestern copied a goldfish’s memory, forgetting its mistakes and exploiting back-to-back two-on-ones out of the press to push the lead back to double digits.

The two squads traded baskets up until the final media timeout, with an absurd stepback from Henderson keeping the game within striking distance for the Flames.

Teams traded fouls from there, as the game slowed down with both teams in the bonus. A pretty Nick Martinelli floater with a couple minutes to go nearly put the game away, but the Flames wouldn’t go away quietly, silencing the crowd after a tough Ciani and-one. Martinelli played copy-cat, going down the court and getting an and-one of his own to push the lead to seven with 1:13 and seal the game for good.

Northwestern will return to action at Welsh-Ryan Arena against in-state opponent Eastern Illinois on Friday at 7:00 p.m. CST.