WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – It was far from being a matchup of Big Ten heavyweights, but intensity and drama punctuated a frantic Wednesday night at Mackey Arena. When the excitement finally subsided, it was Northwestern that prevailed – or survived – in a 78-76 overtime win against Purdue (7-11, 1-6 Big Ten).
“It was one of those games – a very good college game where you don’t like to see anyone lose,” NU coach Bill Carmody said. “It just seemed like the game was intense from the get-go.”
Neither team led by more than five points in the second half. The announced crowd of 10,169 erupted when senior guard Bryant Dillon rattled in a 3-pointer to give the Boilermakers a 66-63 lead with 11.8 seconds remaining in regulation. After an NU timeout, freshman guard Craig Moore sent the game into overtime with his own 3-pointer.
Senior forward Vedran Vukusic scored eight of his season-high 29 points in the extra session to lead the Wildcats to their second conference road victory. NU (10-8, 3-4) snapped its four-game losing streak and moved a half-game ahead of Penn State into eighth place in the Big Ten.
“Within our conference, everyone’s beating everyone,” guard Sterling Williams said. “We’ve had a couple tough losses, but if we can get things going, get a couple games here, protect our home court, we can save our season.”
While Vukusic was the familiar storyline, three other Cats scored in double figures. Senior guard Mohamed Hachad shot 8 of 11 from the field and finished with 20 points. The last time NU had two 20-point scorers in a game was in its Big Ten opener on Jan. 4 – a 66-53 win against Purdue.
After being held scoreless in the first half of Saturday’s loss against Illinois, Hachad was the Cats’ offensive catalyst from the opening tip. The 6-foot-4 swingman converted a couple of layups and hit all three of his 3-point attempts en route to 13 points before halftime.
“This was one of our best wins because we had a lot of contributions from different guys, and that’s how teams win,” said Hachad, who added three rebounds and three steals. “You can’t have one or two guys play their best game, and the rest of team just be out there.”
Still, in a tight game with six lead changes and four ties in the final nine minutes, the Cats turned to their senior duo of Vukusic and Hachad. Coming off a 1-for-14 performance against Illinois, Vukusic converted 12 of 19 shots – including a pair of forceful dunks and a crucial fallaway jumper in the second half.
“I think it was my first time playing an overtime game,” Williams said. “Being a freshman, I look up to the older guys. We were confident the whole way.”
At times the see-saw game reached a furious pace. During one four-minute stretch in the second half, the teams combined for 24 points, featuring long 3-pointers and fast-break layups.
The 78 points scored by NU was its highest output in Big Ten play this year. The Cats shot 54 percent from the field while committing only nine turnovers.
“It seemed like the first time this year we had a balanced attack,” Vukusic said. “It’s obvious you’re going to play better when you have three or four offensive threats. Every team’s going for that, and we had that tonight and came out on top.”
The victory came at an opportune time for the Cats; their next six conference games are against nationally ranked opponents.
“People talk about the tough schedule in the Big Ten, but we haven’t been playing our best,” Hachad said. “I don’t think today was our best either, but it was a little step forward.”
Reach Gerald Tang at [email protected].
