Northwestern brought the energy and effort the team needed to pull out its first conference victory of the season in Saturday’s game against No. 19 Purdue. The Wildcats would not let this game follow the same script as their previous conference matchups.
NU trailed by 10 points early in the second half, but sophomore forward Kevin Coble stepped up and brought the team back into the game. Coble scored seven points during a 12-0 run that gave the Cats a two-point lead midway through the second half.
But the momentum would not last long, and NU’s usual scoring problems appeared and ended its hopes.
The Boilermakers tied the game and scored 14 unanswered points, holding the Cats scoreless for nearly five minutes. NU again found itself down big after playing close for much of the game and lost to Purdue 71-56.
“It seems like a pattern now,” coach Bill Carmody said. “We’re playing pretty decently for a half and maybe 35 minutes, then we seem to hit one of these droughts where we have a hard time putting the ball into the basket.”
Senior guard Jason Okrzesik scored the Cats’ first field goal in nearly six minutes when he hit a reverse layup off his own missed shot with more than three minutes to play. It was the only field goal the team recorded in the final nine minutes of the game. The Boilermakers (21-5, 12-1 Big Ten) built a 13-point lead and had the game out of reach by then.
NU (7-16, 0-12) shot 36 percent (8 of 22) in the second half and 40 percent for the game. Purdue, on the other hand, hit 58 percent of its shots, including better than 60 percent in the first half.
The Boilermakers could not pull away until late in the game despite their good shooting because they struggled to protect the ball. Purdue committed 16 turnovers, which led to 19 NU points. The Cats committed only six turnovers.
Carmody said he felt limiting his team’s turnovers would be a key to winning the game. NU did this, but could not take advantage of its opportunities as Purdue pulled away.
Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said he was worried how his young team would handle facing the Cats’ complex offensive and defensive schemes for the first time. He said his team had trouble, but they made the plays when it mattered.
“We were having a difficult time of just passing and catching and making a simple play,” Painter said. “(Carmody) stayed with that 1-3-1 (zone defense) the whole time and it gave us some problems, there is no doubt about that. But when we got into that position down two (points), our guys stepped up and made big plays.”
Purdue eventually pulled away from NU thanks to its tough defense in the final quarter. Guard E’Twaun Moore led the team with 28 points, including 16 in the first half. He also grabbed six rebounds.
Coble led the Cats with 13 points and seven rebounds, while freshman guard Michael Thompson added 10 points.
NU held an eight-point lead midway through the first half, but could not hold onto the advantage before the end of the half. The Boilermakers held the Cats to just two points in the final five minutes – previewing NU’s later scoring drought – to take a four-point halftime lead.
“It’s just a combination of things and I don’t think anybody quite knows what it is yet,” Coble said. “Hopefully as we keep going, just grinding out, we can figure it out and keep those runs from happening. That’s something we definitely we need to focus on. It has sort of become a bad habit, something we’ve got to take care of.”
