At the beginning of December, Northwestern’s Big Ten slate got off to a painful start in the Hawkeye State, where a buzzer-beating Iowa 3-pointer handed the visitors a heartbreaking loss.
After a brief respite that included a big win over No. 19 Illinois and a few nonconference victories, the Wildcats (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) had yet to take down a 2025 opponent — until Thursday, when NU hosted Maryland and pulled off an overtime buzzer-beater of its own to win 76-74.
With the pressure mounting after three straight losses, the ’Cats entered the game in desperate need of a statement victory to avoid sinking further toward the Big Ten basement.
And they got it in dramatic fashion.
With just 0.7 seconds left in overtime, NU gathered at its bench as officials determined which team would retain possession after a pivotal sequence — graduate student guard Ty Berry lost the ball driving to the basket and it bounced off a Maryland defender out of bounds.
As coach Chris Collins’s group huddled to draw up a final play to topple the Terrapins (13-5, 3-4 Big Ten), who had wiped out a double-digit lead in the final moments of regulation, the unmistakable chords of Journey’s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” filled the air. It was a nostalgic touch, echoing last season’s home games when the iconic ’80s hit played in the pregame hype video before lineup introductions.
Graduate student guard Jalen Leach looked to inbound from the baseline, scanning the floor for an open shooter. He first glanced at Berry, then at senior guard Brooks Barnhizer, tightly guarded by two Terrapin defenders. As junior forward Nick Martinelli cut across the perimeter, Leach saw his chance. He fired a pass to the Glenview, Illinois, native, who took a quick step back and nailed a fadeaway jumper as time expired.
“It’s a play we’ve run for many years,” Collins said postgame. “It’s kind of our short clock go-to.”
Collins said he turned to assistant coach Brian James to draw up the game-winning play, with the two wanting multiple NU shooters running curled trajectories to throw the shifting Maryland defense off balance.
“We kind of looked at each other: What do we want to run? Do we want Nick or Brooks to be that guy? And we all just kind of said: ‘Nick,’” Collins said.
While Barnhizer credited James with ultimately calling the play, he said that he had suggested the team run “line tight” before the huddle. James turned, gave him a wink, and the play was set.
Barnhizer said the pair had discussed the new play NU ran at the end of the game in its recent loss to Penn State and they agreed that they should have gone with their special situation standby instead.
“Just the faith that my coaches and teammates have in me,” Martinelli said after his game-winning bucket. “That 100% could have went to Brooks and he probably would’ve made it too.”
In addition to Martinelli and Barnhizer’s contributions, Collins singled out Berry for his crucial bounce-back performance off the bench.
Freshman guard Angelo Ciaravino started in place of Berry Thursday, but the veteran responded with 15 points in 33 minutes against Maryland — a significant jump from the five total points he had scored over the previous three games and more than double his playing time from those contests.
Aside from his two 20-plus point games against Iowa and Northeastern, Berry has been largely quiet this season. Heading into Thursday’s matchup, he was averaging just 6.9 points per game, down from his career-high 11.6 last year.
But against the Terrapins, Berry found his rhythm, hitting three straight buckets in the first half, including two three-pointers, to help the ’Cats hold a lead at the break — their first against a Big Ten opponent this season.
“It wasn’t a demotion, it was just a reset,” Collins said of his decision to start Ciaravino over Berry.
With a road trip to Ann Arbor on the horizon Sunday, maintaining Berry’s strong play could be crucial for NU as they prepare to face No. 20 Michigan.
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