Tuesday, November 12
Evanston, Ill.
6 p.m. CT
Northwestern
2-1,0-0Big Ten
83
vs
74
UIC
2-1,0-0MVC
1
2
F
UIC
29
45
74
Northwestern
31
52
83
Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics
Strong Second Half Lifts Northwestern to Victory over UIC
11/12/2024 10:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. - Fueled by junior Nick Martinelli's 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting, Northwestern defeated crosstown foe UIC 83-74 on Tuesday evening inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Graduate student Jalen Leach posted 16 points and three assists while converting 5-of-8 of his shot attempts, his best output as a Wildcat during the young season. Fellow graduate student Ty Berry also had his highest scoring game of the season with 13 points, while nailing 3-of-5 3-point shots. He also notched his 14th career game with three or more steals. Junior Justin Mullins led the team with seven rebounds and graduate student Matthew Nicholson posted a season-high three blocks
Martinelli became the first Northwestern (2-1) player to score 25+ points in three consecutive games since John Shurna did so from Dec. 16, 2010 to Dec. 21, 2010. He also became the first Wildcat since at least 2004-05 to score 25+ points in each of the season's first three games. Through three games, he is averaging 28.3 points while shooting 73.8% from the field.
Neither team started strong, as the scoreline read 6-6 with 13:14 remaining in the first half. By the time it reached halftime, Northwestern held a 31-29 lead.
On the first play of the game, Berry found Nicholson for an alley-oop to get the 'Cats on the scoreboard first.
"Every game, we got to go into it saying, 'you know what, we got to execute this first play,'" Nicholson said. "We got to do it to perfection because that's how we have to set the game up, because that first play matters."
Northwestern forced UIC (2-1) to turn the ball over 10 times in the first half en route to forcing a total of 20 for the full game. The Wildcats are 16-3 when they force over 20 turnovers in a game since Chris Collins became the team's head coach.
Gallery: (11-12-2024) Men's Basketball vs. UIC
Martinelli led the game in scoring with nine first-half points before his 18-point second-half explosion and the team's 52-point half.
"We were super fired up to play that second half," Martinelli said. "(Brooks Barnhizer) gave us a great speech, just talking about how you have to play every game like it's your last … He got us fired up. We were ready to go in the second half."
The first two offensive possessions of the second half foreshadowed what was to come. Martinelli blew by his man for a layup, followed by Leach draining an open three off of a pick-and-roll. Northwestern made seven of its first nine shots to open the second half.
Fourteen of Leach's 16 points came in the second half, converting 4-of-5 shot attempts.
"He was able to get to his spots," Collins said. "I just want him to be aggressive. … I want him to attack, want him to get to his spots. We need him to be a scorer."
The 'Cats jumped out to a 10-point second half lead for the first time in the game eight minutes into the stanza on the heels of a Berry three assisted by Martinelli. Northwestern drained eight of its 15 three-point attempts (46.7%) in the game.
Collins noted that Berry's performance today was an encouraging sign, given he returned to game action just two weeks before the season began. Berry's three with a shade under nine minutes remaining gave Northwestern its largest lead of the game of 14 points.
The 'Cats' 14 point lead was cut to just four with under two minutes remaining, but Northwestern, led by Martinelli's seven points in the final two minutes, held on for the win.
"We got up 14, and we had three or four just really careless turnovers, and I just talked to the guys about how quickly a game can change," Collins said.
The 'Cats return to action on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. CT inside Welsh-Ryan Arena as they take on Eastern Illinois. The game will be broadcast on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.
Graduate student Jalen Leach posted 16 points and three assists while converting 5-of-8 of his shot attempts, his best output as a Wildcat during the young season. Fellow graduate student Ty Berry also had his highest scoring game of the season with 13 points, while nailing 3-of-5 3-point shots. He also notched his 14th career game with three or more steals. Junior Justin Mullins led the team with seven rebounds and graduate student Matthew Nicholson posted a season-high three blocks
Martinelli became the first Northwestern (2-1) player to score 25+ points in three consecutive games since John Shurna did so from Dec. 16, 2010 to Dec. 21, 2010. He also became the first Wildcat since at least 2004-05 to score 25+ points in each of the season's first three games. Through three games, he is averaging 28.3 points while shooting 73.8% from the field.
"It's amazing to see what he's doing," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "I'm so proud of him. He's such a warrior. What's great about Nick is he's just so immersed in the game. He doesn't know about stats or points. He's just trying to win. He's just a guy you want on your team all the time."'CATS WIN! pic.twitter.com/keIgFfvfQ0
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) November 13, 2024
Neither team started strong, as the scoreline read 6-6 with 13:14 remaining in the first half. By the time it reached halftime, Northwestern held a 31-29 lead.
On the first play of the game, Berry found Nicholson for an alley-oop to get the 'Cats on the scoreboard first.
"Every game, we got to go into it saying, 'you know what, we got to execute this first play,'" Nicholson said. "We got to do it to perfection because that's how we have to set the game up, because that first play matters."
Northwestern forced UIC (2-1) to turn the ball over 10 times in the first half en route to forcing a total of 20 for the full game. The Wildcats are 16-3 when they force over 20 turnovers in a game since Chris Collins became the team's head coach.
Martinelli led the game in scoring with nine first-half points before his 18-point second-half explosion and the team's 52-point half.
"We were super fired up to play that second half," Martinelli said. "(Brooks Barnhizer) gave us a great speech, just talking about how you have to play every game like it's your last … He got us fired up. We were ready to go in the second half."
The first two offensive possessions of the second half foreshadowed what was to come. Martinelli blew by his man for a layup, followed by Leach draining an open three off of a pick-and-roll. Northwestern made seven of its first nine shots to open the second half.
Fourteen of Leach's 16 points came in the second half, converting 4-of-5 shot attempts.
"He was able to get to his spots," Collins said. "I just want him to be aggressive. … I want him to attack, want him to get to his spots. We need him to be a scorer."
The 'Cats jumped out to a 10-point second half lead for the first time in the game eight minutes into the stanza on the heels of a Berry three assisted by Martinelli. Northwestern drained eight of its 15 three-point attempts (46.7%) in the game.
Collins noted that Berry's performance today was an encouraging sign, given he returned to game action just two weeks before the season began. Berry's three with a shade under nine minutes remaining gave Northwestern its largest lead of the game of 14 points.
The 'Cats' 14 point lead was cut to just four with under two minutes remaining, but Northwestern, led by Martinelli's seven points in the final two minutes, held on for the win.
"We got up 14, and we had three or four just really careless turnovers, and I just talked to the guys about how quickly a game can change," Collins said.
The 'Cats return to action on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. CT inside Welsh-Ryan Arena as they take on Eastern Illinois. The game will be broadcast on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.
Team Stats
UIC
NU
FG%
.463
.500
3FG%
.435
.467
FT%
.636
.667
RB
36
31
TO
20
9
STL
4
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballNorthwestern Men's Basketball Cooking Competition
Sunday, July 20
GRITTY AS IT GETS: Brooks Barnhizer Supercut 🎥
Thursday, June 26
Men's Basketball - Chris Collins on B1G Today
Tuesday, April 08
Men's Basketball - Wisconsin Postgame Press Conference (3/13/25)
Thursday, March 13
