'Cats Blast No. 22/21 Texas to Advance to Legends Classic Championship

11/21/2016 10:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Texas Box Score Players Postgame (Lindsey | McIntosh)Box Score (PDF)

McIntosh paces Northwestern with 20 points

BROOKLYN — Northwestern knocked off No. 22/21 Texas, 77-58, in the semifinals of the Legends Classic to advance to the championship game Tuesday night at the Barclays Center.

The Wildcats (3-1) will face Notre Dame for the title tomorrow night at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and WGN Radio.

Junior Bryant McIntosh scored a game-high 20 points to lead four Northwestern players that tallied double-figures. Scottie Lindsey scored 16 points and Isiah Brown chipped in 10, while Dererk Pardon recorded his first double-double of the season on 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Tevin Mack led the way for Texas (3-1) with 18 points and four rebounds.

Northwestern put together a complete game shooting 48.2-percent (27-of-56) from the field and held Texas to just 37.3-percent (19-of-51) shooting.

The Wildcats were active on the defensive end and on the glass. As a team NU forced 14 turnovers and grabbed 40 rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive end.

Northwestern set the tone of the game early by jumping out to an 11-0 lead. The #B1GCats high level of play was not limited to the offensive end as the team forced five turnovers on Texas' first six possessions.

With Northwestern leading 15-5 at the 12:01 mark of the first half, Texas' Andrew Jones drilled a 3-pointer that jump-started a 15-5 run for the Longhorns to pull the score even at 20-20.

Following the Longhorns' surge, Northwestern settled down and retook control of the game. Lindsey and Taphorn combined for eight points over the final 3:48 of the first half and Northwestern kept Texas out of the score column during that period to take a 34-26 lead into the locker room.

Northwestern shot 40.6-percent (13-of-32) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, which included five makes from behind the arc. The#B1GCats were also aggressive on the glass, grabbing 21 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end.

The Wildcats started the second half much like how they started the game. Sanjay Lumpkin scored five-straight points to help Northwestern go on a 10-1 run to start the half.

Northwestern did not take its foot off the gas for the remainder of the game. McIntosh's layup with 35 seconds remaining in the contest gave Northwestern its largest lead of the game, 77-57.

Texas' James Banks was issued a flagrant 2 foul in the second half and was ejected from the game.

Northwestern Notes vs. Texas
Nov. 21, 2016
• With the win, Northwestern advances to face Notre Dame at 5 p.m. Central time Tuesday in the Legends Classic championship game.
• Northwestern now leads the all-time series with Texas, 2-1. This was the first meeting between the teams since Dec. 23, 1974.
• The Wildcats have won both meetings with the Longhorns on a neutral site. NU posted a 73-71 win over Texas in Memphis, Tennessee, on Dec. 21, 1965.
• Ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press poll, Texas is the first ranked nonconference team the Wildcats have defeated since a 72-58 win over No. 23 Notre Dame on Nov. 27, 2009 in the semifinal round of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
• This was Northwestern's first win over a ranked opponent since a 65-56 victory at No. 14 Wisconsin on Jan. 29, 2014.
• Sophomore center Dererk Pardon recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats. It is the second double-double of his career. He recorded 28 points and 12 rebounds at Nebraska Dec. 30, 2015.
• This is the third double-figure rebounding game of Pardon's career.
• Bryant McIntosh recorded a game-high 20 points. It is his first 20-point game of the season and the eighth of his career.
• Freshman Isiah Brown tallied 10 points to reach double figures in scoring for the third time in his first four collegiate games.