Luka Mirkovic is not much of a consummate 3-point shooter. So when the 6-foot-11-inch Serbian center knocked back a triple from the top of the arc to extend Northwestern’s lead to four points with two minutes left to play against Iowa on Thursday night, his trademark kisses to the crowd were especially fitting.
Courtesy of just the junior’s sixth 3-pointer of the season, the Wildcats scraped their way to a 73-70 win over the Hawkeyes, a fellow Big Ten basement dweller, at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
“I really worked on my shot as of late,” Mirkovic said. “So I was pretty confident when I shot it. Luckily, it went in.”
Mirkovic’s 3-pointer, though something of an anomaly this season, represented what turned out to be a relatively well-rounded, healthy offensive effort for the Wildcats. NU finished with four scorers in double digits, thanks to Mirkovic (13), senior guard Michael Thompson (16), junior forward John Shurna (15) and sophomore forward Drew Crawford (15). It was that balanced attack and a 36-point perimeter performance that helped NU to snap its two-game losing streak and redeem its 10 percent 3-point shooting at Penn State on Sunday.
“We’ve lost a few in a row,” coach Bill Carmody said. “Too many. But this team isn’t quitting. There have been injuries and different things, but you just like to see these guys come out and fight.”
It was a resiliency that was apparent early in the game as NU jumped out to a 13-point lead after11 minutes, though Iowa would claw its way back into contention to make it a narrow 39-37 game at break. The Cats’ first-half campaign was mostly a 3-point affair as they knocked back six of their first ten attempts from behind the arc.
” That’s one of the things we do,” Carmody said. “You don’t have to be on fire, but if you’re going to win games, if you’re a 3-point shooting team, you probably have to hit 30 percent. If you don’t get that, you’re going to struggle.”
NU would finish the night 43 percent from 3-point range, but that marksmanship did not translate into a bulls-eye win. Though the Hawkeyes managed just one two-point lead early in the second half, they never trailed enough to give the Cats any real breathing room.
Freshman guard JerShon Cobb, who finished the night just shy of double digits with eight points, notched a layup and the ensuing and-one to give NU’s its biggest lead of the half at 69-62 with three minutes to play. But Iowa guard Bryce Cartwright, who dropped 25 points when NU beat Iowa 91-70 in the teams’ first matchup, and forward Melsahn Basabe led the Hawkeyes on a 4-0 run.
Mirkovic’s trey less than a minute later and Thompson’s 1-for-2 performance at the charity stripe made the game a 3-point situation for Iowa with three seconds on the clock.
Thompson would finish the night with nine assists and zero turnovers to add to his team-leading 16 points. NU’s court captain took liberties on the dribble, creating shots on the perimeter and fielding passes across the lane.
“I definitely had the confidence on the dribble,” Thompson said. “I was just trying to attack the basket and be aggressive.”
Shurna also looked more tenacious, posting a 15-point finish that is one of his best performances since sustaining a concussion at Minnesota on Jan. 26.
Next up for NU as it attempts to secure a berth in the NIT is a quick turnaround at Indiana on Saturday.
“You’re supposed to have a minimum of two days in between,” Carmody said. “And this is one day, and you’re traveling four hours. It’s not right. I’m not going to let these guys use it as an excuse, but Iowa could have come here last night. So, that bothers me.”
