Illinois Edges Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena

2/7/2017 8:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Jasper Scherer

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Bryant McIntosh scored a game-high 21 points and Vic Law added 16 behind four 3-pointers, but Northwestern fell in a closely contested 68-61 loss to Illinois on Tuesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Law and Gavin Skelly each recorded nine rebounds, while McIntosh finished the game 8-of-12 after missing his first eight shots. Northwestern dominated the offensive boards, doubling Illinois' output 10-5 on that end, but the 'Cats couldn't overcome a cold shooting night as they finished at 34 percent from the field.

NU falls to 18-6 on the year and 7-4 in the Big Ten.

Northwestern got on the board less than a minute in with a Dererk Pardon slam, then took a 4-0 lead when Law found room for a wide-open dunk on a fast break. Both sides were a combined 3-of-13 shooting at the first media timeout, but the 'Cats held a 4-2 edge behind the two early jams.

Pardon added another slam shortly after the timeout, making it three baskets and three dunks for the 'Cats. Northwestern, 11th in the nation in opponent shooting percentage, held Illinois to one field goal on 10 shots in the first seven minutes.

But after going up 10-4, NU quickly found itself trailing when the Illini rattled off a 15-0 run. Isiah Brown ended Northwestern's scoring drought by converting on a tough floater near the nine-minute mark, setting off a 9-2 'Cats run. Law rattled home a 3-pointer and Gavin Skelly poured in four quick points, and Northwestern was back within two points.

Law, a force on the boards with seven first-half rebounds, again drained a deep 3-pointer from the wing to cut the deficit to one, 27-26. McIntosh followed by swishing mid-range jumper to put the 'Cats back ahead at the one-minute mark. The teams headed to halftime tied at 28.

Nathan Taphorn, who narrowly missed a buzzer-beater 3-pointer at the end of the first half, swished a corner three right out of the break. The 'Cats extended their lead to four when Law followed an Illinois 3-pointer with one of his own, but the Illini went on a 7-2 run to go up 44-39.

After missing his first eight shots of the game, McIntosh had begun to heat up. After finishing the first half with three straight makes, he hit a fair of jumpers in quick succession just before the midway point of the second half. His second score brought Northwestern within three, 46-43, with 11:18 left.

The 'Cats struggled to find the bottom of the net, but they got to the foul line repeatedly, and scored five straight points from the stripe to stay within striking distance.

Then, with Illinois up 51-48, McIntosh rattled off seven straight points for the 'Cats, capped off by a 3-pointer that gave Northwestern its first lead in nearly 10 minutes, 55-53.

Illinois tied the game at 56, but Law continued his 3-point barrage, hitting an open shot from the corner off a feed from McIntosh. It was the redshirt sophomore's fourth trey of the night.

The Illini's Michael Finke leveled the score with a three of his own, and from there Illinois kept the 'Cats from scoring a field goal for the rest of the game. Northwestern was within four points with less than a minute to go, but ultimately fell 68-61.

NU returns to action Sunday when the 'Cats travel to Madison to face Wisconsin. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

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Northwestern Notes vs. Illinois
Feb. 7, 2017
• Northwestern and Illinois now have split their last 12 meetings going back to the 2010-11 season.
• Sanjay Lumpkin made the 114^th start of his career, moving him into a tie with Alex Olah (2013-16) for the fifth place all-time at Northwestern.
• Bryant McIntosh scored 21 points Tuesday, raising his career total at 1,131 and moving him up three spots on Northwestern's all-time scoring list to 26^th place.
• McIntosh scored at least 20 points for the third consecutive game, the seventh time this season and the 14^th time in his career.