Wildcats Roar Past Jaguars at Welsh-Ryan Arena

Tuesday, December 20

Evanston, Ill.

7 p.m.

Northwestern

10-2

IUPUI

5-8

IUPUI

Northwestern

Photo by: Colin B Photography

Wildcats Roar Past Jaguars at Welsh-Ryan Arena

12/20/2016 8:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Coach Collins Postgame McIntosh/Skelly Postgame

Six Northwestern players score in double figures

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Gavin Skelly and Sanjay Lumpkin recorded double-doubles to lead Northwestern to a seventh-straight victory as the Wildcats defeated IUPUI 87-65 Tuesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Skelly set career highs with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocked shots while Lumpkin posted 13 points and 13 rebounds. Bryant McIntosh nearly recorded a double-double of his own, recording 10 points and 9 assists.

In all, six Northwestern players scored in double figures in the balanced offensive attack while the Wildcats matched a school record and season high with 12 blocked shots.

The Wildcats were clicking early on the offensive end as they scored on each of their first four field goal attempts in jumping out to a 9-4 lead. NU leading scorer Scottie Lindsey had two quick baskets but picked up his second foul just over three minutes into the game, forcing him to the bench.

The advantage eventually grew to nine, 13-4, as Northwestern limited the Jaguars to only two field goals in their first 10 attempts.

Meanwhile, the 'Cats stayed hot from the field with baskets by Isiah Brown and Nathan Taphorn eventually extending the lead to 21-7, forcing IUPUI to burn a timeout with 11:16 remaining in the half.

The Jaguars eventually got things going offensively, using a 9-1 run to close to within six, 25-19, but a 3-pointer by Taphorn, a putback basket by Lumpkin and a layup by Gavin Skelly extended the advantage back to 13.

Northwestern eventually took a 46-31 halftime lead as McIntosh splashed a triple that beat the first-half buzzer. Taphorn led the way with 9 first-half points.

Lumpkin, who was averaging 10.0 rebounds in the first halves of the last two games, grabbed 10 boards over the opening 20 minutes of play, while Skelly recorded a career-high 5 blocked shots and McIntosh dished out 6 assists.

The Wildcats kept things going into the second half. A second straight 3-pointer by Brown pushed NU's advantage to 58-39 with just over 14 minutes remaining.

The lead grew to 25 by the midway point of the stanza and Northwestern cruised the rest of the way.

Northwestern returns to action in its final nonconference game of the year with a 7 p.m. tip Thursday against Houston Baptist at Welsh-Ryan Arena. BUY TICKETS HERE!

Northwestern Notes vs. IUPUI
Dec. 20, 2016
• Northwestern now leads its all-time series with IUPUI, 2-1.
• The victory is the 17th straight for the Wildcats in the month of December dating back to 2014.
• The win is NU's 20^th straight at home against nonconference opponents going back to 2014.
• Northwestern matched a school record and a season high with 12 blocked shots in the game. Gavin Skelly (6) and Barret Benson (5) both set career highs for blocks in the game. NU also had 12 blocks as a team against Bryant Nov. 25 and vs. Iowa Feb. 15, 2015.
• This is the first time that Northwestern has had six players score in double figures since a 91-71 win over Georgia Tech on Nov. 30, 2010.
• Sanjay Lumpkin continued his dominant recent rebounding totals in the first half of games. After posting 9 first-half rebounds vs. Chicago State Dec. 14 and 11 vs. Dayton Dec. 17, Lumpkin had 10 rebounds over the first 20 minutes of Tuesday's game.
• Lumpkin's 13 rebounds in the game are one shy of his season and career high of 14 achieved in the team's most recent game vs. Dayton last Saturday.
• Skelly's 19 points topped his previous high of 15 achieved twice this season. His 11 rebounds bested his previous high of 9 against New Orleans Dec. 11, 2016. His 6 blocks topped his previous best of 4 on two occasions this season.
• Freshman Isiah Brown scored a career-high 15 points in the contest. His previous high was 11 in each of Northwestern's first two games of the season. Brown also set a personal best with three 3-point field goals.
• Bryant McIntosh recorded a season-high 9 assists in the game. His previous high was 7 on three occasions.

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