Northwestern Rolls Past Rutgers, 98-59

2/27/2016 3:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Wildcats Dish Out a Program-Record 33 Assists

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern made 17 3-point field goals, its most ever in a Big Ten game, and dished out a program-record 33 assists to roll past Rutgers, 98-59, Saturday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Northwestern (18-11, 6-10 B1G) had five players score in double figures with Tre Demps leading the way by scoring a game-high 24 points to go along with his eight rebounds and four assists.

Alex Olah (14 points, 10 rebounds) had his third double-double of the season, and 11th of his career, while Nathan Taphorn (13 points), Aaron Falzon (12 points), and Scottie Lindsey rounded out the Wildcats' double-digit scorers.

Bryant McIntosh was responsible for setting up a lot of Northwestern's scoring on the afternoon. The sophomore guard had a career-high 13 assists, which is one shy of the Welsh-Ryan all-time record set by current assistant coach and former Wildcat Patrick Baldwin.

Rutgers (6-23, 0-16 B1G) was led by Jonathan Laurent and Omari Grier, who scored 17 and 11 points, respectively.

The Wildcats finished the game shooting 53.6 percent (37-of-69) from the field and 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from behind the arc.

Northwestern mounted a 19-4 lead in the first six minutes of the contest due to its hot shooting from deep, hitting 4-of-5 3-point field goals in that stretch. All seven of Northwestern's field goals during the run were credited with an assist on the play.

The Wildcats' lead only swelled from there, as they proceeded to go on a 21-6 run and take a commanding 40-10 lead with five minutes left in the half.

Demps was a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range during the run.

The Wildcats went on to score eight more points in the half to take a 48-18 lead into the locker room. The 48 first-half points matched a season-high for scoring in a first half, tying marks set against New Orleans (Nov. 28) and Sacred Heart (Dec. 21) from earlier in the season.

Northwestern shot 52.9 percent (18-of-34) from the floor in the first half and 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from 3-point range.

The Wildcats didn't let up in the second half, outscoring the Scarlet Knights, 50-41, in the closing 20 minutes.

Northwestern will return to action on Thursday, March 3 for its final road game of the season at Penn State. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT.

Northwestern Notes vs. Rutgers – Feb. 27, 2016
• The contest against Rutgers marked the fourth straight opponent that Northwestern has facing against teams that it only plays once this season.
• Northwestern assisted on 33 of its 37 field goals in the contest. The 33 assists are a school single-game record, topping the 32 the Wildcats posted against Benedictine on Nov. 20, 2007.
• Northwestern's 48 points before halftime tied a season high for the first half. The Wildcats also scored 48 points over the opening 20 minutes of play vs. New Orleans (Nov. 28) and Sacred Heart (Dec. 21).
• Sophomore guard Bryant McIntosh recorded a game-high 13 assists in the contest. The total is the most ever by a Northwestern player in a Big Ten game and the second most ever overall by a Wildcat in a game. Patrick Baldwin had 14 assists vs. Youngstown State on Dec. 5, 1992. McIntosh came into the game ranked 10^th in the nation with an average of 6.6 assists per contest and raised his NU single-season record total to 198.
• It is the fourth double-figure assist game of the season and career for McIntosh. He is the first Northwestern player to have multiple games with 10 or more assists in the same season.
• McIntosh upped his career assist total to 348, moving him past Tim Doyle (341, 2005-07) and Michael Jenkins (342, 1980-83) into fourth place all-time at Northwestern.
• The Wildcats hit a season-high 17 3-pointers in the contest. Northwestern's previous high was 15 triples in wins over Chicago State (Dec. 13) and Sacred Heart (Dec. 21). The 17 3-pointers are the third most in a game in school history and the most ever in a Big Ten game. The school record is 20 on two occasions.
• Demps recorded 8 rebounds in the contest, one shy of his career high. All 8 of Demps' rebounds came in the first half.
• Demps tied a season and career high with six 3-pointers on Saturday. He also hit six triples at Iowa on Jan. 31.
• Nathan Taphorn scored a season-high 13 points off the bench. Taphorn's career high is 16 points vs. Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 14, 2014.
• Senior center Alex Olah recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds in the contest to post his third double-double of the season and the 11^th of his career.
• Senior guard Tre Demps appeared in his 129^th career game today, moving him into a tie with Michael Thompson (2008-11) for third place in school history in the category. Only John Shurna (130, 2009-12) and Drew Crawford (143, 2010-14) have appeared in more games at Northwestern.
• Olah started his 111^th career game at Northwestern, tying him with Kevin Rankin (1991-94) for sixth place in school history.
• Northwestern entered the game ranked 10^th in the nation with a 1.54 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Wildcats dished out 33 assists with only 7 turnovers on Saturday.