After falling in the final seconds to Butler last night, Northwestern got itself back in the win column with a 66-61 win over UNLV Friday.
Senior guard Brooks Barnhizer scored 23 points as the Wildcats (6-2, 0-0 Big Ten) took down the Runnin’ Rebels (4-3, 0-0 Mountain West) in the third-place match of the Arizona Tip-Off in Tempe, Arizona.
The game started reminiscent of Northwestern’s recent offensive struggles: a turnover, a foul and a missed shot. But graduate student guard Jalen Leach got the ’Cats on the board with a triple to extend a 3-0 lead.
Offensive baskets came at a premium early, as the two teams went to the under-16 timeout with NU holding a slim 5-4 lead.
The ’Cats extended their lead to 9-4 but a three-minute scoring drought and a 6-0 UNLV run forced a timeout by coach Chris Collins.
A pair of three-pointers from Barnhizer regained the NU lead at 15-12, but UNLV’s Jailen Bedford scored nine straight points for the Runnin’ Rebels in the first half. UNLV led by as much as seven points by the under-four timeout.
The ’Cats concluded the first half on an 8-0 run, backed by an and-one by junior forward Nick Martinelli and five points from Barnhizer, to take a 26-25 lead into the break.
Backed by a three-pointer from Martinelli and a triple from graduate student guard Jalen Leach, NU opened the second half with an 8-4 run, taking a lead it never relinquished.
Leach scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half as he shot 5-for-6 and made all three three-pointers he attempted.
Though the Runnin’ Rebels cut the lead to 42-41 with 12 minutes remaining, a Barnhizer three-pointer extended NU’s lead back to 47-41.
UNLV lingered throughout the final minutes, drawing within four points with 1:43 left in the contest, but a Barnhizer and-one brought the game far enough out of reach to secure a ’Cats win.
Here are three takeaways from Friday’s contest.
1) Have a night, Brooks Barnhizer
Following NU’s win over Montana State ten days ago, Collins called Barnhizer “one of the best players in the country.”
Barnhizer demonstrated the veracity of that statement Friday.
The senior guard scored 23 points on 7-for-17 shooting while firing a 4-for-7 clip from three-point land. He also corralled nine boards and six assists.
A star-sized vacancy opened following the departure of Boo Buie on the ’Cats’ offense. It appears Barnhizer is ready to fill the legendary guard’s scoring shoes.
2) Berry’s offensive struggles continue
Graduate student guard Ty Berry is still making his way back from injury after sustaining a torn meniscus last February.
Eight games into the season, it’s clear he may be still getting used to being on the court.
Berry scored just one point Friday on 0-for-5 shooting, taking four missed three-point shots. Though his defensive ability shined as he earned a plus-7 rating, Berry’s shooting was similar to his performance so far this season.
Entering Friday, Berry shot just 30.6% from the field, the second-worst among players to take the court in each of NU’s contests and worst among those in the starting five. Friday’s performance will sink that percentage further.
3) Defensive prowess wins games, for now
The offensive output from NU in its last five contests: 67 points in overtime against Eastern Illinois, 72 points against Montana State, 68 points against Pepperdine, 69 points against Butler and 66 points against UNLV.
Collins has long lauded assistant coach Chris Lowery’s defensive scheme, which has been a staple of the ’Cats’ system for as long as he has been on staff.
But, despite the oft-used adage, defense won’t win championships. Nor will it come conference play.
Against high-octane offenses like Illinois, which NU takes on a week from today, or Big Ten foes Penn State, Iowa and Wisconsin –– all of which are within the top 25 scoring offenses thus far this season –– the ’Cats will need shots to fall. They will not be able to rely on their defense.
Barnhizer is certainly a capable primary option. But NU must find consistent secondary and tertiary scorers. That may be Leach. Martinelli could find his form again.
If the ’Cats can’t get dependable scoring, the defense can only do so much.
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Related Stories:
— Rapid Recap: Butler 71, Northwestern 69
— Men’s Basketball: Northwestern defense steps up in 68-50 win over Pepperdine
— Men’s Basketball: Northwestern beats Montana State 72-69 as Barnhizer returns
