It would not be a Northwestern basketball game if it didn’t make fans sweat it out.
The Wildcats blew a 15-point first-half lead, but were able to hang on to defeat Akron, 76-74, in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday. The Zips missed a free throw on purpose to set up a final shot with 3.7 seconds remaining, but Alex Abreu’s 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the rim at Welsh-Ryan Arena and the Cats breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“They came out in the second half and that team would never go away,” coach Bill Carmody said. “It was anybody’s game right down to that last shot.”
NU jumped out to the quick lead thanks to 57 percent shooting in the first half. Junior forward Drew Crawford played an instrumental part in building the Cats’ large lead, scoring 19 first-half points by attacking the rim. The Cats held a 15-point advantage with 90 seconds left in the first half, but the Zips ended the first stanza on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 8.
The shift in momentum continued into the second half when Akron went on a 9-0 run after a Crawford 3-pointer to cut NU’s advantage down to 2. The Zips eventually took the lead with 13 minutes left in the game, and the contest never got outside of 4 points again. It was a familiar situation for the Cats, which have lost seven games by less than six points or in overtime. However, the past never entered NU’s psyche on Tuesday.
“We never think negatively,” Crawford said. “We just got together as a team and said this is when we’re put on a run. We can’t wait for the final seconds of the game. We’ve got to be able to fight now and finish the game strong.”
The Zips exposed the Cats’ recurring struggles on the glass Tuesday night. Akron outrebounded NU, 45-31, bolstered 19 offensive rebounds. The second and third chances led to 12 points for the Zips.
Akron had 40 points in the paint overall, many of them easy layups and dunks off post play. The Zips’ Zeke Marshall said they planned to go after the Cats inside from the start and he felt they did a good job.
“We did pretty well on the post,” the seven-foot center said. “They’re a really small team compared to us, so we just pounded it in and we scored relatively well. Our plan coming in was to pound it down low, make them double (team) and shoot open shots.”
While the 40 points in the paint was not a shock for NU, Carmody was critical of how his team played on the defensive end of the floor. NU entered the contest giving up an average of 68 points per game. Although the Cats were able to convert 12 turnovers into 17 points, NU gave up many wide open looks and got punished.
The lone defensive bright spot for the Cats was a brief period when they were in the 1-3-1 zone and forced the Zips to turn the ball over three consecutive possessions. Afterwards, the zone proved ineffective as NU was unable to pick up loose balls and allowed Akron to make them chase the ball around the arc.
“It was more of speeding us up,” Marshall said. “We made two or three mistakes throwing the ball away, got them back in it, got them a run. Other than that once we got into it, we started playing well against the zone.”
On offense NU was reenergized by the continued strong play of JerShon Cobb. The sophomore guard scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, his third straight game in double figures. Carmody said he feels the offense has flowed better with Cobb in the lineup.
After missing much of the season due to injury, Cobb said he is starting to feel more confident as this season draws to close and he has gotten healthier.
“I feel more comfortable on the court,” Cobb said. “I feel like I’m getting my game back, and my teammates have been behind me my whole time.”
The Cats were paced by Crawford’s 27 points and John Shurna’s third career double-double. The senior forward finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, setting a new season-single record as well as becoming the 27th player in Big Ten history and first in school history to score at least 2000 points. Shurna also set the NU career blocks record with a block on Marshall 57 seconds into the game.
NU will face Washington in the second round of the NIT on Friday night in Seattle.
