Eight minutes into Northwestern’s matchup against Pepperdine on Friday, the Wildcats (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) led the Waves (1-4, 0-0 West Coast) by one point. The ’Cats had not yet found their footing, missing open jumpers and even shooting an airball.
Then, junior guard Justin Mullins stole the ball from a Pepperdine player in the paint before bolting down the court for a fast break dunk. The crowd in Welsh-Ryan Arena roared the loudest it had all night.
“The game turned when he came in,” NU coach Chris Collins said.
NU’s lead surged from there. The 68-50 win was its first ever over Pepperdine, to whom the ’Cats previously lost twice in 2000.
Compared to recent thrillers over Montana State and Eastern Illinois, where both victories came down to the final minutes, Friday’s outcome was clear long before the buzzer.
Mullins spearheaded the ’Cats’ dominant defense with seven rebounds and two steals. But it was his offense that cemented NU’s momentum.
“As the games keep going on, I feel myself getting more confident offensively,” Mullins said. “When I get those opportunities, I try to take them more.”
But the ’Cats couldn’t extend their lead to more than five points until junior forward Nick Martinelli breathed extra life into the attack. With less than three minutes remaining in the half, he posted the team’s first triple.
Martinelli proceeded to score an and-one bucket and another jumper. The ’Cats led by 12 going into halftime.
Although he finished with 20 points, Martinelli wasn’t NU’s leading scorer. That was graduate student guard Jalen Leach with 21.
Leach started the second half with a flurry of shots, including NU’s only other triple. His nine-point run propelled the ’Cats offense to a 19-point lead that shut the door on Pepperdine.
“Coach talks to me every day about being aggressive and having confidence in myself,” Leach said. “I just want to be aggressive and try to get them to foul me a lot.”
Senior guard Brooks Barnhizer also put up double digits with 13 points. Friday’s game was his second start this season after he returned from an undisclosed injury.
NU did not commit any turnovers in the first half. Collins said the ‘Cats have been working to improve ball security.
Still, he acknowledged it was the defense that kept them safe when shots didn’t fall.
“Be more crisp,” Collins said. “Get the ball moving, execute our sets, make sure we’re getting good shots on each and every possession. Our offensive efficiency is not where it needs to be at the competition levels.”
The team’s defensive strategy prioritized locking down Pepperdine senior forward Stefan Todorovic and preventing him from shooting three-pointers and free throws, Collins said.
Entering Friday, Todorovic was one of the nation’s leading scorers, averaging 20 points per game this season. He posted only six points against NU. Two of those came from free throws, and he did not make any of his four shots from behind the arc.
As for Mullins, Collins said he views the guard as a “sixth starter.” Mullins could play a more prominent role on both sides of the ball moving forward.
“Coming into the year, he knew his way to the floor was going to be to do dirty work, defense, rebounding, and he put a little bit of his offense to the back burner,” Collins said. “Now that he’s playing a lot of minutes, I want to continue to build his offensive ego.”
The victory concludes a four-game winning homestand for the ’Cats. They will face Butler next Thursday in Tempe, Arizona.
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