Friday, November 29
Tempe, Ariz.
6 p.m. CT
Northwestern
6-2,0-0Big Ten
66
vs
61
UNLV
4-3,0-0Mountain West
1
2
F
UNLV
25
36
61
Northwestern
26
40
66
Photo by: Zac BonDurant
Barnhizer's 23 Points Lift 'Cats past UNLV
11/29/2024 8:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TEMPE, Ariz. – Senior Brooks Barnhizer piloted a 66-61 Northwestern victory against UNLV in the Arizona Tip-Off by stuffing the stat sheet with team-highs 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four three-pointers.
The contest was a back-and-forth battle where neither team led by double digits. The Rebels (4-3) led by as many as seven in the first half, but the Wildcats (6-2) took the lead with 14 seconds remaining in the first half and never trailed again.
Graduate student Jalen Leach contributed 15 points while converting 5-of-6 field goals and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Graduate student Matthew Nicholson tallied eight points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks, becoming the fifth Northwestern player to post at least these figures in a game over the past 10 years. Junior Nick Martinelli added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.'CATS WIN! ?? pic.twitter.com/3Vy1rnYr8w
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) November 30, 2024
Barnhizer's effort resulted in consecutive 20+ point games for the second time in his career, while he became the first Wildcat to post 20+ points, 7+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 3+ 3PM since Scottie Lindsey on Jan. 15, 2017 against Iowa. He is the fourth Northwestern player to post those numbers since 2005-06.
Leach got the 'Cats going by draining a three for the team's first points. At around the 10-minute mark, Barhizer nailed a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions, but Northwestern soon fell into a 23-16 deficit, its largest of the game.
From this point, the 'Cats went on a 10-2 run — including an 8-0 burst in the final two minutes of the half — to take a 26-25 lead heading into halftime. Barnhizer scored seven of the ten points on this run, including his third three of the half. The Lafayette, Indiana native tallied 13 of the team's 26 first half points.
Northwestern nailed four threes in the first half, tying or exceeding its output over the previous three games. Over the course of the entire game, the Wildcats knocked down 8-of-18 (44.4%) of their three-point attempts. Northwestern is 3-0 this season when converting over 40% of its attempts from beyond the arc.
With a shade over six minutes remaining, Leach drained a three off a Martinelli assist to put NU up 54-49. Both teams were held scoreless for two and a half minutes, but Barnhizer broke the scoring drought with a tough mid-range jumper to put Northwestern up 56-49.
With NU leading 58-54 with just under 1:20 remaining, Barnhizer put the game to rest with a drive left, followed by a spin right to convert an and-one layup. The score through contact marked his 23rd point of the game, just one point short of his career-high.
Northwestern travels to Iowa City, Iowa for a matchup with Iowa on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. CT. The game will air on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.
Team Stats
UNLV
NU
FG%
.421
.408
3FG%
.333
.444
FT%
.700
.692
RB
34
33
TO
14
12
STL
2
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
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