A game that was way too close for comfort.
It was a game that never should have gotten as close as it did, but Northwestern found a way to survive.
Coming off a close victory on Tuesday against UIC, the ‘Cats were expected to continue their winning streak against Eastern Illinois. While that winning streak remains intact, Northwestern faced a scare from the Panthers, emerging victorious in an ugly game that was nowhere close to the performance many expected coming in. The Wildcats (3-1, 0-0 B1G) needed overtime to defeat EIU (1-3, 0-0 OVC) in a game that was a slugfest the whole way through.
Jalen Leach led the way offensively with 27 points (including converting on 15 of his 16 free throws), and Nick Martinelli added 16 points with four boards. As a team, the Wildcats struggled mightily in the shooting department. NU was just 40% from the field and 26% from three point range. Had it not been for a 27-8 advantage in free throws, the Wildcats v very likely would have lost the game.
Nakyel Shelton led the way for the Panthers, finishing with 19 points and three steals. Kooper Jacobi wasn’t far behind, scoring 14 with nine rebounds and playing a team-high 41 minutes. EIU also couldn’t convert from deep, missing on 16 of its 19 three-point attempts.
Northwestern won the tip, with both teams struggling to get going on the first couple of possessions. Nick Martinelli and Jalen Leach opened the scoring, giving the ‘Cats the early momentum. It didn’t take long though for Eastern Illinois’ offense to hit two jumpers to even the score, after which Ty Berry and Isaiah Griffin hit nearly identical-looking threes to even things up at seven apiece at the first media timeout.
A very long Northwestern possession out of the timeout ended with a Luke Hunger bucket, but EIU quickly responded once again. The two teams would exchange scores to put NU up 13-11, but immediately followed with a nearly two minute scoring drought that kept that scoreline in place around the 12 minute mark.
Leach put an end to the drought with a pair of points from the charity stripe as Northwestern’s offense started to heat up. EIU conceded its seventh turnover of the half, with Berry proceeding to hit a corner three. Martinelli followed that up by sinking an and-one to cap off a 10-0 run for the ‘Cats, which was finally shut down by an Artese Stapleton free throw. Paint buckets from Angelo Ciaravino and Justin Mullins gave the ‘Cats a solid 25-14 lead as the game entered another media timeout.
The Panthers found an offensive spark of their own out of the break, going on a 7-2 run that prompted Chris Collins to call timeout. Northwestern was ice cold, committing four turnovers in a four minute span, the last half of which was marked by a failure to score a single point.
A Nakyel Shelton bucket bought the Panthers within two, but Northwestern’s offense found its groove once again, knocking down all four of its shots in the final three minutes. Mullins caught a deflected pass and drove uninterrupted to the rim for an emphatic slam, bringing him to six points on the evening. Martinelli proceeded to hit two of his iconic floaters, with one coming off an EIU shotclock violation. In the final seconds of the half, Leach reached double digit points with a turnaround jumper, sending the ‘Cats into a break with a 37-27 edge.
For Northwestern, Martinelli led the way with 11 points and two rebounds, while Jalen Leach wasn’t far behind with 10 points — eight of which came from the free throw line. For EIU, Kooper Jakobi had six points and two rebounds, with no player in particular standing out on the stat sheet.
Both teams came out cold to start the second half, combining 1-9 from the field in the first three minutes. Matthew Nicholson missed three opportunities from the line, one of which came from an EIU lane violation. Martinelli finally ended the drought with a floater, and EIU ended its three minute drought with a Lazar Grbovic bucket to bring the game to the first timeout of the half.
Leach committed a five second violation, after which Jakobi recorded another bucket to bring NU’s lead within seven. The ‘Cats recorded another long scoring drought lasting nearly four minutes before Ciaravino found the rim for an and-one but missed the free throw. Not long after, an errant pass by Zion Fruster gave KJ Windham his first bucket on what was a quiet night for the first year. The offensive output was very slow for both sides, with EIU narrowly outscoring Northwestern 8-7 in the first eight minutes of the half.
The buckets still weren’t falling for NU, as EIU continued to close the gap with two free throws and a pullup by Shelton. The Panthers didn’t stop there, as Shelton nailed an impressive pullup fadeaway and Jacobi tipped a rebound in to bring the game within two. An and-one from Rodolfo Rufino Bolis brought the game within one, with Martinelli squandering an easy rebound that led to an ensuing Shelton bucket. That score gave EIU its first lead of the game at 47-46, heading into the under-8 media timeout. Northwestern hadn’t scored since before the under-12 media timeout.
The panic was setting in for the ‘Cats, as Shelton continued his dominance with a stepback jumper off another NU turnover. Leach’s two made free throws marked the first NU points in five and a half minutes, and a Berry trey gave Northwestern the lead before Shelton hit from deep to trade the lead once more. Two buckets from Jacobi extended EIU’s lead to three, leaving Northwestern shockingly behind heading into the final three and a half minutes of the game.
Leach hit a jumper to put the game within one as EIU talked things over in front 56-55. Jacobi missed a wide open layup, with Leach’s shot on the other end blocked by Shelton. Leach hit an all-important three from the top of the arc, giving the ‘Cats back the lead in the final minute. Shelton tied the game again with a jumper, leaving NU an opportunity to take the lead in the final seconds. NU couldn’t convert, with the ball glancing off an EIU player and sailing out of bounds with three seconds left.
On their last chance of regulation, Berry failed to hit on a jumper, sending the game to overtime.
Leach opened the overtime scoring with his 12th and 13th free throw makes of the night. Fruster missed an important one-and-one for EIU, as the Panthers struggled to find the rim in the extra period. Two more free throws from Martinelli gave the ‘Cats a crucial two possession edge as Collins called timeout with a minute and a half remaining in the period.
Leach hit another one from deep, with a Nicholson rejection at the rim putting control firmly in NU’s hands. Two Leach free throws all but sealed the deal for Northwestern, and the Wildcats would end up surviving by a closer-than-it-looks 67-58 margin.
Northwestern will be back in action next when Montana State comes to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CST.