With just over 15 minutes remaining in the second half of Northwestern’s Sunday contest against Nebraska, graduate student guard Ty Berry slammed home a fast-break dunk, extending the hosts’ lead to 18 and quieting the contingent of visiting Cornhusker fans.
But as crucial turnovers piled up and once-hot shooting went cold, the Wildcats’ (13-13, 4-11 Big Ten) early fortune took a turn.
In their return home after a winless West Coast road trip, the ’Cats couldn’t close out their lofty lead as they fell to Nebraska, 68-64 in their sixth loss in seven games.
The game began in a rare dominant fashion for NU, who ventured on a 7-0 scoring run in the first two and a half minutes of play. This start marked the first time in three games that the ’Cats led at the first-half 16-minute media timeout.
“I thought our guys were really ready to play,” coach Chris Collins said. “[We] had a great first 28 minutes. I thought our defense was great.”
NU won the first half handily, led by Berry and junior forward Nick Martinelli, who scored 13 and 11 points, respectively. Berry’s points came on 14 shots, including 12 3-point attempts — tying his single-game career high.
Defensively, the ’Cats held the visitors to 27.3% shooting from the floor and 10% from three in the first half. Despite the 15-point lead, NU boasted just a 36.1% shooting percentage and committed eight turnovers.
The ’Cats matched their turnover total in the second half, bringing their total on the game to 16, which matched their season-high.
“We didn’t play very smart basketball,” Collins said. “We had some really careless turnovers.”
Berry added 10 more points in just the first five minutes of the second half, while NU held onto their substantial lead. That was, until the 15-minute mark, when both the offense and defense began to meltdown.
Collins emphasized the importance of communication postgame, pointing to miscues on the defensive end as one of the defining factors of the second half.
“When you play defense in the second half, it’s away from your bench, so it really relies more on the guys on the floor having to talk,” Collins said. “We have not been a good defensive team, and especially now when points are hard to come by, we can’t afford not to be a good defensive team.
After that Berry dunk, Nebraska went on a 27-8 run as NU struggled to stifle its opponent’s offensive onslaught.
After giving up the lead, Martinelli reclaimed it on the next possession. Both teams failed to score for the next 90 seconds until freshman guard KJ Windham picked up his fifth foul and Nebraska hit both free throws, giving them a 61-60 lead with 1:33 left to play.
The Cornhuskers extended their lead to three with a layup as the final minute began. They counteracted NU’s late buckets with successful foul shots.
Trailing by three points with nine seconds remaining, turnovers plagued NU again to seal the loss as Martinelli fumbled the ball in an attempt to hand it off to Berry.
“Basketball is a game of runs, and as much as you want to close games out, it’s hard,” Berry said. “We learn from it, and that’s something the young guys gotta learn from.”
The ’Cats head to Columbus, Ohio, Thursday where they play against Ohio State.
Email: jonahmcclure2028@u.northwestern.edu
X: @jemccl125
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