Inside the intimate Colonial Hall resort ballroom in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Northwestern and Virginia danced back-and-forth, trading moves throughout the game as the Wildcats (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) lost their groove in an 83-78 loss against the Cavaliers (5-0, 0-0 ACC).
As senior forward Nick Martinelli failed to produce, with nine points on 3-of-12 shooting, junior guard Jayden Reid and junior center Arrinten Page stepped in with 20 and 23 points, respectively. But the ’Cats dropped their first game to a power conference opponent.
The closely contested contest came down to the wire as the Cavaliers edged past NU as they won the free throw battle with an 83% mark versus NU’s 71%.
The fixture took place as part of an eight-team tournament at the famed resort, founded in 1778. It was the first time NU had played in West Virginia in over 50 years, but they will return to the venue on Sunday to face South Carolina.
Here are three takeaways from Northwestern’s first lost of the season.
1. Northwestern drops first early test against power conference opponent
After a mediocre showing in a 81-79 win against DePaul last Friday, NU couldn’t pull off another close game, losing to the preseason ACC No. 5 team as its bench only logged 12 points.
After opening an early five-point lead with a 7-for-10 start, the ’Cats surrendered their lead by the 8-minute mark. The Cavaliers then extended their lead to eight points while heating up from the floor, but by the end of the half, which featured six lead changes, NU cut the deficit in half.
Thanks to diverse contributions, pioneered by Page and Reid, the ’Cats continued its late first-half momentum, seizing a five-point lead within the first four minutes of the second half.
Reid had a couple of dicey moments as the largely pro-Virginia crowd began to become more engaged, and they erupted when the Cavaliers regained the lead on a transition 3-pointer after he was blocked with over nine minutes remaining in the contest.
NU was in the driver’s seat again when senior guard Justin Mullins equalized with a fadeaway mid-range jumper and Reid layed in an and-one. But as the game wound down, Virginia went on a 10-2 run across just over four minutes to take a 74-70 lead it wouldn’t concede.
2. Page continues excelling with two-way effort
With minimal first-half production from Martinelli — five points on 1-for-7 shooting — Page, alongside Reid, kept the ’Cats afloat with his overall second straight 20-point effort.
When NU gave up its second deficit of the game with about than eight minutes remaining in the first period, Page didn’t let the Cavaliers keep it up for long. As the beneficiary of an alley-oop from Reid, Page high-pointed the ball and slammed it home over Johann Grünloh as both bodies crashed to the ground.
As the Cavaliers punched back, Page continued to dominate around the basket, connecting with Reid multiple times, to keep NU within striking distance. He scored 13 points in the first half on 6-for-9 shooting.
In the second half, Page logged his fourth dunk of the contest to gain a 43-42 lead early in the period. He followed it with a step-back triple, his second long-distance bucket of the match as the two teams continued trading buckets.
And even when his offensive output slowed later in the game, Page’s defensive production rose as he influenced multiple Virginia shots, though his effort ultimately wasn’t enough.
The final scene was Page fouling out on an intentional foul that sealed the deal for the Cavaliers.
3. Martinelli fails to produce typical output on offensive end
After leading the Big Ten in scoring last year, Martinelli failed to contribute his usual production against Virginia.
In a nine-point effort, Martinelli failed to maintain a streak of 22 games with 15 or more points, as well as a run of 29 contests with at least 10. In the first half, he only made one basket, shooting 1-for-7 from the floor.
The woes hit a low when, in the first half, Martinelli air-balled a 3-pointer, despite having previously started the year with a fiery hot, 6-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Martinelli was outshone by Virginia’s international star, Thijs De Ridder, who scored 17 first-half points en route to a career-high 26 points.
The ’Cats play their second leg of the Greenbrier Tip-off on Sunday at 4 p.m. against South Carolina.
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