Falzon's Shooting Leads NU to 73-66 Win Over Indiana

1/22/2019 11:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Northwestern 73, Indiana 66 Box Score Postgame Presser: Collins Postgame Presser: Falzon/Pardon Post-game Notes vs. Indiana

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern stormed past Indiana at the new Welsh-Ryan Arena Tuesday evening on the back of career nights for Aaron Falzon and Dererk Pardon, defeating the Hoosiers, 73-66, for NU's second-straight Big Ten victory.

The triumph also gave Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins 100 career wins in his tenure with the 'Cats. Collins became the third coach in program history and fastest ever to reach the mark, doing it in fewer than five seasons in Evanston.

Falzon provided an incredible shooting performance off the bench, nailing six-of-seven attempts from three-point land. The redshirt junior, who previously had season-highs of six points and six minutes played, racked up 21 points in 20 minutes on the court, single-handedly outscoring the visiting team, 12-4, over a three-minute period in the second half.

Pardon's solid night ensured he would reach a key milestone in style, as his 17 points in the contest put him over 1,000 total points in his career. The senior center becomes the third active Wildcat to reach the mark, distinguishing NU as just one of five programs with three current players in the thousand-point club. Pardon also added six rebounds and a pair of blocks while playing 36 of a possible 40 minutes.

Anthony Gaines continued his recent run of strong play, contributing in all areas with 10 points, seven rebounds and a game-high six assists. Vic Law chipped in 11 points thanks to an 8-of-10 mark from the free throw line while also tallying a team-leading three blocked shots.

As the game got underway, the first half of the opening frame proved to be a defensive battle, with Indiana holding a 14-8 lead after nine minutes of action.

Falzon came off the bench with seven minutes remaining in the half and immediately made a splash, nailing a three-pointer from the wing to bring NU within four. After a pair of stops by the Wildcat defense, Falzon canned another look from deep to make it a one-point game, already matching his season highs of six points and two made threes in the process.

Gaines added to the run with a tough finish at the basket, giving Northwestern its first lead of the evening at 21-20 with 4:35 to play. Another triple from Falzon and a dunk from Pardon put the 'Cats up four, an advantage that they would keep into the break.

Falzon led the hosts at halftime with nine points, followed by Pardon with eight of his own. Gaines added four points to go along with a trio of assists.

Chicago's Big Ten Team was able to carry the momentum straight into the start of the second half, as a quick Pardon layup and a three from A.J. Turner stretched the lead to nine in the first minute of action.

After Indiana was able to cut the deficit to three, Falzon became a one-man offense and helped the 'Cats pull away for good. His deep three from the left wing found nothing but net, and Law's attempt on the next possession yielded the same result. Falzon was then fouled from behind the arc and made all three free throws, and added another triple when Turner found him open on the following trip. Falzon punctuated the 15-4 run with a contested three from the corner at the end of the shot clock, giving him 21 points in just 13 minutes.

Pardon drew a foul and went to the charity stripe with 7:42 to play, sitting on 12 points in the game. He made his first attempt to give him 13 on the night and exactly 1,000 in his Northwestern career.

Indiana fought to stay within striking distance, trailing by seven as the clock ticked under six minutes. The teams traded free throws and dunks over a three-minute stretch, with the scoreboard showing 64-58 with 2:56 remaining.

A combination of stingy defense and clutch free throws was more than enough to stave off the Hoosiers as the game wound down, as NU maintained its multi-possession lead until the buzzer.

The final score read 73-66 in favor of Chicago's Big Ten Team. The 'Cats scored 45 points in the second half and finished with double-digit three-pointers for the first time since a win over Columbia in December.

Northwestern has now won three home conference matchups on the season and improves to 9-3 at the new Welsh-Ryan Arena for the campaign.

Next up for the 'Cats is a trip to Madison to face Wisconsin this Saturday, Jan. 26. Tipoff is set for 1:15 p.m. CT at the Kohl Center, and the action will be televised on Big Ten Network.

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