If you were to walk into Welsh-Ryan Arena Monday night to see Northwestern take on UCLA in its final home contest of the season, you may have mistaken it for a matchup of years past as the amplitude of a revitalized home crowd loomed large.
In a game that honored three players who defined the program throughout their careers, alongside two more who joined the fray for their final season of eligibility, the Wildcat (16-14, 7-12 Big Ten) faithful roared to life when the hosts cut what had been a double-digit Bruin (21-9, 12-7 Big Ten) lead with a minute to play down to just one point 35 seconds later.
NU fell short of mounting the full-fledged Senior Night comeback, though, ultimately falling 73-69 as a flagrant foul called on freshman guard K.J. Windham dealt the final blow.
“It’s March now, so you never know what can happen,” graduate student guard Ty Berry said postgame. “We just tried to claw our way back and even though we fell short, I’m just so proud of my guys.”
For nearly 30 minutes, the contest remained tight, with neither team leading by more than five points, as the lead flipped back-and-forth 14 times throughout the contest. The Bruins came out strong, but NU quickly answered.
When junior forward Nick Martinelli found the basket for an and-one floater that cut an early 7-2 Bruin advantage down to just three, the building ruptured. Then, just over two minutes later, graduate student Ty Berry nailed his first of four 3-pointers on the night, igniting the crowd once more.
A triple by junior guard Justin Mullins knotted the game at 11 apiece to send the contest into the first-half 16-minute media timeout as NU quieted the visitors early energy.
In the dying seconds of the half, after a fruitless NU possession, the Bruins followed up with a 3-pointer on the other end, only for Martinelli to respond with a perfectly timed pass to graduate student center Matthew Nicholson, who slammed home a dunk with four seconds left to play.
By the end of the first half, NU led 35-34 with almost all of its scoring dispersed between Martinelli, Berry and Windham — who nailed long-range attempts on consecutive possessions right around the nine-minute mark.
As the ’Cats traversed into second-half territory, an equally topsy-turvy 10 minutes ensued as the teams traded bucket-after-bucket and players from both sides dove for the ball on the floor, refusing to relinquish an inch.
When graduate student center Keenan Fitzmorris hit a near-baseline jumper with 8:18 left to play and the Bruins turned the ball back over, he sprinted up the court, threw his hands in the air and turned to the crowd, then to his own bench.
But UCLA would soon jump ahead by six after a second chance attempt spiraled down the drain — the largest lead either squad had seen prior to that moment. Moments later, as the visitors knocked down two free throws, the likelihood of an NU victory began to slip away as coach Chris Collins called a timeout.
The Bruin lead ballooned to 14 points with just over three minutes left to play, but the ’Cats’ veteran stars — Berry and Nicholson — refused to relent in the game’s final moments.
Down by 10 points with 56 seconds on the clock, the duo combined for nine points, seeking vengeance for a senior night they missed out on due to injury last season.
“We both knew in the back of our heads (last season) that we were going to get another one,” Berry said. “So tonight we really made sure to cherish that moment together.”
Following the loss, NU will travel to College Park, Maryland, for its final regular season game against the No. 13 Terrapins Saturday.
Email: audreypachuta2027@u.northwestern.edu
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