Northwestern University Athletics
Wednesday, October 30
Evanston, Ill.
7 p.m. CT
Northwestern
0-0,0-0Big Ten
89
vs
62
Lewis (Exhibition)
0-0,0-0GLVC
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Lewis
30
32
62
Northwestern
37
52
89
Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics
Wildcats Surge Past Lewis in Exhibition, 89-62
10/30/2024 10:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern scored 52 second half points and forced 21 turnovers to defeat Lewis 89-62 in an exhibition contest inside Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday night. Junior forward Nick Martinelli led the team in scoring (25), rebounding (6) and assists (5) while playing 32 minutes.
"Nick was a warrior," Collins said. "He's just a really good player, not only in scoring, but he gets six rebounds, five assists."
With seven minutes remaining in the first half, Martinelli drained his second three of the contest to give Northwestern a 22-20 lead, and they never looked back, holding the lead for the remainder of the game.
As the clock ticked down toward the end of the first half, Northwestern held a 35-30 lead. After garnering a starting nod in his collegiate debut, first-year K.J. Windham drove right, spun to his left, and found a wide-open Nicholson, who threw down a dunk as the buzzer sounded.
"You saw some things from K.J. with his ability to put the ball in the basket, and he gets five assists," Collins said. "We knew Lewis was going to be scrappy and kind of get after us a little bit, so we decided to put another ball handler on the floor."
On the first offensive possession of the second half, Windham drove left down the lane and found graduate student Jalen Leach open in the corner for three, where the Fairfield transfer drained his first three as a Wildcat.
A few minutes later, Martinelli threw the ball cross court to an open Windham, who then nailed his first three in collegiate action. On the next possession, Leach drained another three, marking the beginning of a 52-point second half for Northwestern.
Gallery: (10-30-2024) Men's Basketball vs. Lewis (Exhibition)
Leach ultimately finished the game as the team's second-leading scorer with 20 points, 14 of which came in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting.
"Any time you get out of there for the first time, there's some jitters, and it comes from a good place," Collins said. "He's leveled up coming from Fairfield. He's playing now in the Big Ten. … I just thought that first half was kind of a feeling out process for him. I thought you saw in the second half a little bit more of hopefully what we expect."
With eight minutes remaining in the second half, Lewis trailed 67-57, but the 10-point margin was the last time the game's score would be this close. A Leach three launched the beginning of a 22-5 run.
Before he checked out of the game for the final time with just over four minutes remaining, Martinelli added five points to his tally, extending the 'Cats lead to over 20. His performance was the start of what Collins hopes is an elite season.
"He's going to be one of our key guys," Collins said. "I've said it all preseason. His next step is to be a guy you count on for major production every night, and I think he's ready for that. … We're expecting Nick to have a chance to be an all-conference player. That's how highly I feel about him."
Junior Justin Mullins capped off the game emphatically for Northwestern with two steals that led to transition points for the home team. The latter steal led to an emphatic jam, putting the seal on the night.
Collins said that Mullins' performance — which earned him 25 minutes — of eight points, four steals and five rebounds made it difficult to take him out of the game. Mullins also posted a game-high +30 plus-minus.
"I definitely take a lot of pride (on the defensive end)," he said. "I'm really just looking for any way to help the team, so when I can come in and help defensively like that and get us going, it means a lot to me."
The 'Cats kick off the regular season at 7 p.m. CT on Monday, Nov. 4 against Lehigh inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game will air on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.
"Nick was a warrior," Collins said. "He's just a really good player, not only in scoring, but he gets six rebounds, five assists."
With seven minutes remaining in the first half, Martinelli drained his second three of the contest to give Northwestern a 22-20 lead, and they never looked back, holding the lead for the remainder of the game.
The 'Cats' lockdown defense prevented a Lewis field goal for the ensuing four minutes.Exhibition W. pic.twitter.com/qtXMqbRU5Z
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) October 31, 2024
As the clock ticked down toward the end of the first half, Northwestern held a 35-30 lead. After garnering a starting nod in his collegiate debut, first-year K.J. Windham drove right, spun to his left, and found a wide-open Nicholson, who threw down a dunk as the buzzer sounded.
"You saw some things from K.J. with his ability to put the ball in the basket, and he gets five assists," Collins said. "We knew Lewis was going to be scrappy and kind of get after us a little bit, so we decided to put another ball handler on the floor."
On the first offensive possession of the second half, Windham drove left down the lane and found graduate student Jalen Leach open in the corner for three, where the Fairfield transfer drained his first three as a Wildcat.
A few minutes later, Martinelli threw the ball cross court to an open Windham, who then nailed his first three in collegiate action. On the next possession, Leach drained another three, marking the beginning of a 52-point second half for Northwestern.
Leach ultimately finished the game as the team's second-leading scorer with 20 points, 14 of which came in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting.
"Any time you get out of there for the first time, there's some jitters, and it comes from a good place," Collins said. "He's leveled up coming from Fairfield. He's playing now in the Big Ten. … I just thought that first half was kind of a feeling out process for him. I thought you saw in the second half a little bit more of hopefully what we expect."
With eight minutes remaining in the second half, Lewis trailed 67-57, but the 10-point margin was the last time the game's score would be this close. A Leach three launched the beginning of a 22-5 run.
Before he checked out of the game for the final time with just over four minutes remaining, Martinelli added five points to his tally, extending the 'Cats lead to over 20. His performance was the start of what Collins hopes is an elite season.
"He's going to be one of our key guys," Collins said. "I've said it all preseason. His next step is to be a guy you count on for major production every night, and I think he's ready for that. … We're expecting Nick to have a chance to be an all-conference player. That's how highly I feel about him."
Junior Justin Mullins capped off the game emphatically for Northwestern with two steals that led to transition points for the home team. The latter steal led to an emphatic jam, putting the seal on the night.
Collins said that Mullins' performance — which earned him 25 minutes — of eight points, four steals and five rebounds made it difficult to take him out of the game. Mullins also posted a game-high +30 plus-minus.
"I definitely take a lot of pride (on the defensive end)," he said. "I'm really just looking for any way to help the team, so when I can come in and help defensively like that and get us going, it means a lot to me."
The 'Cats kick off the regular season at 7 p.m. CT on Monday, Nov. 4 against Lehigh inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game will air on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.
Team Stats
Lewis
NU
FG%
.400
.534
3FG%
.421
.458
FT%
.818
.696
RB
26
35
TO
21
11
STL
8
11
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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