Pardon Scores 28, Leads Wildcats Over Huskers 81-72

12/30/2015 5:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Freshman posts double-double in second career game

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Just a few days ago Dererk Pardon wasn't even in Northwestern's plans for this season. Wednesday, he was dominating Nebraska in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

The freshman had 28 points and 12 rebounds in his second college game and led his team back from a 12-point second-half deficit in an 81-72 victory.

The Wildcats (13-1) won their 10th straight game and are off to their best start since the 1930-31 season. The Cornhuskers (8-6) are 0-5 in Big Ten openers since joining the conference in 2011-12.

Pardon scored 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field in the second half, and he finished 11 for 14. Six of his seven offensive rebounds came after halftime.

Northwestern coach Chris Collins activated Pardon on Sunday because of a foot injury that will keep 7-foot senior Alex Olah out indefinitely.

''I'm happy coach Collins gave me the opportunity, my teammates believed in me and I just went out there and did what I was supposed to do - help my team win,'' Pardon said.

Collins said he initially decided to redshirt Pardon because he didn't think he would be able to give significant minutes to the 6-foot-8, 230-pounder from Cleveland. In addition to Olah, the Wildcats also have the 6-foot-10 Joey van Zegeren.

''Just an outstanding performance by a young player who we had really high hopes for coming in,'' Collins said. ''We thought we got a gem with him. He was an under-the-radar recruit that we felt had a chance to be really good, and his work ethic and his ability to be ready when called upon like he was when Alex went down was amazing.''

The Huskers had no answer for Pardon in the low post, and he scored nine points as the Wildcats were whittling a 51-39 deficit to three points. Scottie Lindsey's 3-pointer from the corner tied it 60-all with seven minutes left.

''My coach told me to keep on attacking their guys and keep on attacking the glass,'' Pardon said. ''I saw that Nebraska got a little tired. I kept pushing and running and got open opportunities.''

Tre Demps finished with 17 points and Aaron Falzon had 12 for the Wildcats, who made 8 of 9 free throws in the last 1:34.

Andrew White made 5 of 8 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead the Huskers, and Benny Parker had career highs with 17 points and five 3s.

It was the second straight game Northwestern came back after being down double digits. The Wildcats erased a 14-point deficit to beat Loyola (Maryland) on Sunday. Pardon had six points and four rebounds in that game.

''The game was moving pretty fast for me, way different than high school,'' he said. ''I had to slow myself down. That's what I felt I did this second game. I feel like Loyola was a big learning curve. I played hard. The mistakes I made that game I didn't make this game.''

Northwestern Notes vs. Nebraska – Dec. 30, 2015
• Northwestern improves to 13-1 which matches the best 14-game start to a season in school history. The 1930-31 team also started 13-1 on its way to a 16-1 record and a Big Ten championship.
• The victory was the 10^th in a row for the Wildcats. It is the second winning streak of 10 or more games in school history. Northwestern last won 10 straight during 1930-31 season when it won a school-record 12 consecutive games.
• Northwestern finished the month of December with a perfect 8-0 record. The Wildcats last went undefeated in the month during the 2007-08 season when they won all four of their games. The only other time NU went 8-0 in December was 1968.
• The victory was Northwestern's first all-time against Nebraska in Lincoln in five tries.
• Northwestern improves to 2-1 in Big Ten openers under head coach Chris Collins. The Wildcats posted a 51-47 victory at Rutgers last season.
• Freshman Dererk Pardon led Northwestern with 28 points and 12 rebounds in just his second career game. Both totals are career highs. It is the first double-double of his career and the third by a Wildcat this season (Alex Olah – 2).
• Pardon's 12 rebounds match a season high for a Northwestern player. Alex Olah and Sanjay Lumpkin both recorded 12 rebounds in a season-opening win over UMass Lowell on Nov. 13.
• Pardon became the sixth different Northwestern player this season to score 20 or more points in a game, joining Bryant McIntosh, Tre Demps, Alex Olah, Aaron Falzon and Scottie Lindsey.
• Northwestern finished with a 40-25 rebounding advantage in the contest. The +15 margin is the second-highest for the Wildcats this season behind a +16 edge (40-24) over New Orleans on Nov. 28.
• The Wildcats rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to earn the victory. It is the third time this season that NU has come back from a double-digit deficit to win, including the second consecutive.
• Bryant McIntosh handed out 8 assists in the game. He entered the contest ranked 11^th nationally in the category with an average of 6.8 assists per game. It is the seventh time this season that McIntosh has dished out 8 or more assists in a contest.
• Northwestern came into the contest third in the nation with a 1.87 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Wildcats handed out 14 assists with 7 turnovers on Wednesday.
• Freshman Aaron Falzon hit four 3-pointers in the game to raise his team-leading total in the category to 32.
• Tre Demps handed out four assists with no turnovers in the contest. Over the last six games, Demps has 25 assists and only one turnover. He came into Wednesday's game ranked 16^th in the nation with a 3.86 assist-to-turnover ratio.