EAST LANSING, Mich. — With Mohamed Hachad lurking behind Michigan State’s defenders late in the second half, T.J. Parker lofted a pass toward the basket, setting the stage for an alley-oop.
The ball sailed straight through Hachad’s fingers, negating a prime offensive opportunity for Northwestern. Just a few minutes later, the final horn sounded on the Wildcats’ 18th straight loss in East Lansing.
But neither Hachad’s failed dunk nor NU’s 66-56 loss to the Spartans on Saturday could break the Cats’ spirits. Although the defeat snapped NU’s three-game Big Ten winning streak, captain Jitim Young and the Cats (11-12, 6-6 Big Ten) left the Breslin Center with their confidence intact.
“We took great shots but the ball wouldn’t fall,” Young said. “I’m bringing it and guys are playing well recently, so we just have to take this as a positive and get back to work.”
The Spartans (15-9, 10-3), who drew 14,759 fans for their 95th consecutive sellout Saturday, don’t lose too many home games. Since the 1998-99 campaign, Michigan State has gone 45-2 in Big Ten play on its home court, winning all seven of its games this season.
“Playing this (type of) team, it really helped us a lot mentally,” Young said.
The Cats outrebounded the Spartans 26-24, the first time in the teams’ past 10 meetings that NU beat Michigan State on the boards. During the Spartans’ nine-game streak of rebounding dominance, the Cats averaged a 15-board deficit — including a 45-13 thumping on the glass Jan. 22, 2000.
The Cats’ rebounding effort and a game-high 25 points from Young kept the Cats in it for more than half the game. As late as four minutes into the second half, NU trailed just 38-34.
But that’s when Michigan State’s offensive juggernaut finally got going. Behind two three-pointers from Maurice Ager and one from Chris Hill, the conference’s second-most potent offense went on a 13-3 run, putting the Cats in a 14-point hole with 10 minutes remaining.
“We played the first half and we got that feeling like, ‘We can win this game,'” Hachad said. “But we came out in the second half and just didn’t do it. We kept turning the ball over. We didn’t play as hard on defense and you can’t win like that.”
The Spartans, who came into the game leading the conference in field goal percentage, didn’t have too much trouble with NU’s zone defense. Michigan State shot 54 percent from the field — better than its 48.9 percent average entering the game.
Chris Hill led the Spartans with 16 points, shooting 6 of 11 from the field. Center Paul Davis, 6 feet 11, dropped 15 points on NU, scoring many of his baskets from close range.
“To their credit, the guys who were supposed to make shots made them,” NU coach Bill Carmody said.
With key reserve Evan Seacat injured and unable to make the trip, Carmody played four of his starters — Parker, Hachad, Young and Vedran Vukusic — for more than 39 minutes apiece.
Other than Young no NU player scored in double figures. Vukusic pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, but scored just seven points, more than seven shy of his average. Parker recorded eight points, along with a pair of assists.
“I didn’t see anything wrong with the effort out there,” Carmody said. “I think maybe they were a little tired.”
But Hachad downplayed his coach’s excuse, saying he’d gladly play 40 minutes per game.
“I’m not going to get tired as long as we win games,” he said.
Despite their 10-point loss to the league-leading Spartans, the Cats say they remain optimistic for the rest of the season. With four games remaining in the regular season, they’ve already doubled their conference win total of 2002-2003.
“We still have two weeks,” Hachad said. “We’re going for it. We’re going to try to win every single game, and I think we have a good chance.”
