WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Nobody rushed the court this time. But it didn’t make the win any less impressive.
Despite shooting just 39 percent from the field, the Wildcats (10-11, 5-5 Big Ten) left Purdue’s Mackey Arena Wednesday night with a win for the first time since Feb. 27, 1993. The sloppy 40-39 triumph marked Northwestern’s first victory in West Lafayette in nine tries.
The win — the Cats second straight — allowed NU’s senior captain, Jitim Young, a chance to revel in the spotlight. Young’s Cats have won three of their last four over Purdue.
“You have to hand it to Northwestern,” Purdue coach Gene Keady said. “We told (our team), Young is the toughest player in the league. And he out-toughed us.”
With five seconds left and the Boilermakers’ Brandon McKnight poised to take the game-winning shot, Young came up with a clutch steal, sealing the Cats’ second road win of the season.
The Boilermakers (15-8, 5-5) had another to chance to take the lead seconds earlier, but Kenneth Lowe missed his three-point attempt and Vedran Vukusic grabbed the rebound.
NU outrebounded Purdue 32-30.
“Somebody’s got to step up and make a play when we’re down by one,” he said. “It’s ridiculous we don’t score any more points than we do.”
Neither team had much luck putting the ball in the hoop. Sophomore Evan Seacat led the Cats’ scoring charge with nine points. Seacat — a Paoli, Ind., native — brought 20 people to Wednesday’s game, including his parents and grandparents. They watched him calmy drain three three-pointers.
“I’ve never played a game like this in my life,” Young said. “Evan led us in scoring with nine points. We were laughing about it.”
Seacat’s defensive performance was nothing to snicker at. He led the Cats with two steals. NU held the Boilermakers to 34 percent shooting.
“That was one of the best defensive games I’ve ever seen at any level,” Seacat said. “They’re weren’t sure what to do.”
Until Wednesday, the Cats had lost 22 of 23 to Purdue.
Although NU’s tough play surprises a lot of opposing fans, the lack of respect doesn’t bother Carmody.
“All the other teams in the Big Ten have done this stuff all the time, so I hope this is a step in the right direction,” he said.
The Cats have quietly turned in their best conference record through 10 games since the 1998-99 campaign, which they started 6-4.
The Cats are winning respect around the league for their fierce play.
“All I saw was a team come in here and play better than us on our own court,” Lowe said.
And while Young has never advanced to the postseason with NU, he’s confident about the Cats’ chances this year.
“Northwestern might be the Big Ten champion,” he said.
