Northwestern Falls To Purdue in Regular-Season Finale, 69-65

3/5/2017 5:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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McIntosh leads the Wildcats with 25 points

By: Jasper Scherer

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Bryant McIntosh scored 25 points and Sanjay Lumpkin added 13 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting, but Northwestern couldn't overcome No. 16 Purdue's nearly perfect game at the free throw line as the 'Cats narrowly fell, 69-65, in their final game at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

NU sent off seniors Lumpkin and Nathan Taphorn in style, playing before a packed home crowd and a nationally televised CBS audience. Lumpkin's 5-of-5 game was the best statistical shooting performance of his career.

With the loss, Northwestern fell to 10-8 in the Big Ten and 21-10 overall.

McIntosh set Northwestern's all-time assist record midway through the second half, setting up a Vic Law slam with a nifty bounce pass. The assist was the junior point guard's 529th of his career, moving him one ahead of Michael Thompson on the all-time list.

Pardon, as he has done so many times this year, opened the scoring for Northwestern with a layup on the game's first possession. Purdue connected on each of its first four shots, but Pardon kept two early possessions alive with offensive rebounds, both of which led to Northwestern 3-pointers.

Each of NU's first five baskets came from a different starter, propelling the 'Cats to a 14-9 lead through five minutes.

The roof nearly came off Welsh-Ryan Arena minutes later when Lindsey chased down Purdue's Dakota Mathias and blocked what appeared to be an open layup. Lindsey got back quickly on the fast break and found room along the wing for his second trey of the game. The crowd exploded as Lindsey's shot found the bottom of the net, expanding the lead to 21-12.

The 'Cats followed their 7-0 run by going on a nearly five-minute scoring drought. Purdue capitalized, jumping ahead 23-21 off a 3-pointer by Caleb Swanigan with 8:02 left.

McIntosh responded with a three of his own, and the teams went back and forth for the next several minutes until McIntosh put NU ahead 34-29 with a driving layup over Swanigan just before the two-minute mark.

In the closing moments of the half, Purdue's Vincent Edwards converted on an and-one to level the score. The game was tied 37-37 at the half, while McIntosh led the 'Cats with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. NU shot 52 percent in the period while assisting on 12 of 16 baskets.

Purdue began the second half with four quick points, but the Wildcat defense buckled down and forced a series of empty Purdue possessions during a 5-0 run. The Boilermakers responded with a 6-0 run, and NU bounced right back to bring the score within one, 47-46, with 13:32 to go.

Soon after, McIntosh found Law for his record-breaking assist, though the Boilermakers pulled ahead by nine behind a couple dunks from Swanigan.

But the 'Cats were resilient, a team quality that had propelled them to a school-record 21 wins heading into Sunday. Lumpkin led the way for a 6-0 run, laying in his fourth basket of the night with McIntosh and Pardon scored on back-to-back possessions, pulling NU within three.

With a little more than three minutes left, Lumpkin pulled in a huge offensive rebound and converted on his fifth basket of the game, bringing the 'Cats within a point, 60-59. But Purdue silenced NU thereafter, pulling ahead by five points and never relinquishing the lead.

Northwestern is next in action later this week at the Big Ten Tournament. Exact game times and seeds will be released later Sunday.

Northwestern Notes vs. Purdue
March 5, 2017
• Sunday's game was the final contest at Welsh-Ryan Arena until the 2018-19 season. The facility is set to undergo a complete $110 million renovation. Northwestern will play its 2017-18 season at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
• The contest represented the final collegiate home game for seniors Sanjay Lumpkin and Nathan Taphorn.
• With a feed to Vic Law that resulted in a dunk with 13:49 remaining in the second half, junior guard Bryant McIntosh became Northwestern's career assist leader. The helper was the 529^th of McIntosh's career, surpassing the 528 that Michael Thompson accumulated from 2008-11.
• McIntosh tallied 6 assists Sunday. He came into the game leading the Big Ten with an average of 5.4 assists per game. His 168 assists this season is the second-best single-season mark in school history, trailing only his 213 assists last season.
• Lumpkin appeared in the 132^nd game of his career Sunday, tying him with Tre Demps (2012-16) for second place in school history.
• McIntosh's 25 points represented his 10^th 20-point game of the season and the 17^th of his career.
• Lumpkin connected on all five of his field goal attempts in scoring 13 points. The point total is two off his career of 15 accomplished against Indiana Jan. 29, 2017.