Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
11-14, 2-10B1G
Iowa
15-10, 6-6B1G
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 24 | 30 | 7 | 61 |
| Northwestern | 27 | 27 | 12 | 66 |
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Wildcats Win Overtime Thriller Over Iowa, 66-61
2/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Northwestern men's basketball program wasn't going to let this one get away.
After leading for nearly the entire game and seeing Iowa hit a desperation three to send the game to overtime, the Wildcats outscored the Hawkeyes 12-7 in the extra session to earn a 66-61 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats fell behind early in the extra session, 57-55, but junior Tre Demps tied it up with a coast-to-coast lay in and then found freshman Scottie Lindsey on a backdoor cut with 1:29 to play to give the home team the lead, 59-57.
The Hawkeyes pulled within a possession twice over the last minute of the contest, but the `Cats iced it by going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, including two clutch free throws by senior Dave Sobolewski with eight seconds on the clock.
Junior Alex Olah put together a career day, pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds to go with his 11 points and season-high five blocks. The Wildcats finished with a season-high 12 blocks as a team, including one by Lindsey with 19 seconds left when they led by just three.
Freshman Bryant McIntosh led the `Cats with 18 points and Demps finished with 16.
McIntosh got the 'Cats off the on the right foot as he scored the team's first seven points as NU jumped out to an early 7-2 lead.
Iowa would tie the game with five straight, but red-hot three-point shooting by the Wildcats allowed the hosts to extend their lead. Sobolewski knocked down a pair of shots from beyond the arch and Lindsey also came off the bench to hit one of his own.
When Demps hit Northwestern's fifth triple in six attempts to start the game, Iowa was forced to call a timeout with 7:47 remaining as the Wildcats went up 21-11.
NU's zone defense stifled the Hawkeyes into missing 11 of their first 16 field goal attempts as the 'Cats jumped out to the double-digit lead.
An offensive dry spell for the Wildcats allowed Iowa to eventually get back in the game as an 11-1 run knotted the game at 24 with 46 seconds remaining in the first half. However, Demps did what Demps does, hitting a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the half to put Northwestern up 27-24 at the intermission.
The Wildcats shot 43.5 percent from the field (10-23) over the opening 20 minutes of play while limiting Iowa to 34.6 percent (9-26).
Northwestern maintained its lead until Josh Oglesby hit back-to-back threes that gave Iowa its first lead of the game, 38-36, with 8:54 remaining.
The contest was tied 41-41 when Jarrod Uthoff scored five straight for the Hawkeyes to put the visitors back in front. Demps answered with a clutch triple to get the 'Cats back within two with four minutes to go.
The redshirt junior then rose up and drilled another three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire, giving Northwestern the lead back, 47-46, with 2:45 remaining.
The Hawkeyes reclaimed the lead on a jumper by Mike Gesell with 1:54 on the clock, but sophomore Nathan Taphorn, back in action after missing the last seven games, hit arguably the biggest shot of his career when he knocked down a triple with just 45 seconds left in regulation to give the `Cats a 50-48 advantage.
A pair of free throws by Olah with 19 seconds left extended the Wildcats lead to four, 52-48, but Uthoff hit a three just seven seconds later. Uthoff then followed a pair of free throws by McIntosh with a double-clutch three with just seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
The Wildcats finished the game shooting 45 percent (9-of-20) from beyond the arc and held an advantage on the boards, 39-38.
Northwestern returns to action at 8 p.m. Wednesday when it travels to Minnesota.
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