Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, November 24
Rosemont, Ill. (Allstate Arena)
7:30 p.m.
Northwestern
4-2
81
vs
50
Sacred Heart
2-4
1
2
F
Sacred Heart
31
19
50
Northwestern
43
38
81
Team Stats
SHU
NU
FG%
.429
.474
3FG%
.250
.333
FT%
.476
.857
RB
29
29
TO
23
10
STL
5
9
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballWildcats Feast on Pioneers at Allstate Arena
11/24/2017 8:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Strong defensive effort leads Northwestern to victory
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Scottie Lindsey scored a game-high 19 points and Northwestern put forth a dominant defensive performance in earning an 81-50 win over Sacred Heart Friday evening at Allstate Arena.
Vic Law (15), Dererk Pardon (11) and Gavin Skelly (10) also scored in double figures for Northwestern.
The Wildcats (4-2) started the game on the right foot, tallying the first eight points of the contest in surging out to an early advantage. NU forced five turnovers in just over four minutes to begin the matchup as the lead grew to 13-3, forcing the Pioneers to burn an early timeout.
Sacred Heart (2-4) got things going on the offensive end, trimming Northwestern's lead to four by the second media timeout before a 3-pointer made it a one-point game. The Pioneers were within two, 21-19, when the 'Cats picked it up again on the offensive end. Aaron Falzon and Skelly each hit 3-pointers as part of a 10-2 run that pushed the lead back up to 10, 31-21, with five minutes left in the half.
The Wildcats would eventually take a 43-31 lead into halftime. Lindsey led the way with 12 points while Pardon added 10 on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, including throwing down a trio of dunks. Bryant McIntosh was the primary facilitator as the nation's active leader in career assists dished out six over the opening 20 minutes of play.
NU assisted on 14 of its 17 first-half field goals while committing only five turnovers.
The 'Cats started the second half similar to how they started the first as the hosts scored 16 of the first 22 points in opening up a 59-37 lead. Sacred Heart scored four straight points to make it 59-41, but NU's defense held the visitors scoreless over the next eight minutes and 17 seconds in pulling away.
In fact, Northwestern allowed only 10 points over the first 16 minutes of the second stanza while not allowing a field goal for nearly 10 minutes. The Wildcats held Sacred Heart to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half (6-18).
Northwestern returns to action at 6 p.m. Central time Tuesday as it travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech as part of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Northwestern Notes vs. Sacred Heart – Nov. 24, 2017
• Northwestern now leads its all-time series with Sacred Heart, 2-0. The Wildcats won the only other meeting 103-67 Dec. 21, 2015 in Evanston.
• Friday's game was played as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. Both teams played two games in Connecticut as part of the tournament last weekend.
• Sacred Heart's point total is the lowest by a Northwestern opponent since New Orleans scored 49 Dec. 11, 2016.
• Sacred Heart committed 23 turnovers in the contest. It the most by a Northwestern opponent in Chris Collins' five seasons as head coach and the most since North Florida also had 23 Dec. 16, 2009.
• Bryant McIntosh connected on both of his free throw attempts and now has started the season with 19 straight makes from the charity stripe.
• McIntosh dished out six assists in the contest with all of them coming in the first half. He is the nation's active career leader with 586 assists.
• Scottie Lindsey narrowly missed scoring at least 20 points for the third consecutive game, finishing with a game-high 19 points. He has scored in double figures in each of the team's first six games this season. Lindsey had at least 10 points in each of Northwestern's first 20 contests last season.
Vic Law (15), Dererk Pardon (11) and Gavin Skelly (10) also scored in double figures for Northwestern.
The Wildcats (4-2) started the game on the right foot, tallying the first eight points of the contest in surging out to an early advantage. NU forced five turnovers in just over four minutes to begin the matchup as the lead grew to 13-3, forcing the Pioneers to burn an early timeout.
Sacred Heart (2-4) got things going on the offensive end, trimming Northwestern's lead to four by the second media timeout before a 3-pointer made it a one-point game. The Pioneers were within two, 21-19, when the 'Cats picked it up again on the offensive end. Aaron Falzon and Skelly each hit 3-pointers as part of a 10-2 run that pushed the lead back up to 10, 31-21, with five minutes left in the half.
The Wildcats would eventually take a 43-31 lead into halftime. Lindsey led the way with 12 points while Pardon added 10 on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, including throwing down a trio of dunks. Bryant McIntosh was the primary facilitator as the nation's active leader in career assists dished out six over the opening 20 minutes of play.
NU assisted on 14 of its 17 first-half field goals while committing only five turnovers.
The 'Cats started the second half similar to how they started the first as the hosts scored 16 of the first 22 points in opening up a 59-37 lead. Sacred Heart scored four straight points to make it 59-41, but NU's defense held the visitors scoreless over the next eight minutes and 17 seconds in pulling away.
In fact, Northwestern allowed only 10 points over the first 16 minutes of the second stanza while not allowing a field goal for nearly 10 minutes. The Wildcats held Sacred Heart to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half (6-18).
Northwestern returns to action at 6 p.m. Central time Tuesday as it travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech as part of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Northwestern Notes vs. Sacred Heart – Nov. 24, 2017
• Northwestern now leads its all-time series with Sacred Heart, 2-0. The Wildcats won the only other meeting 103-67 Dec. 21, 2015 in Evanston.
• Friday's game was played as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. Both teams played two games in Connecticut as part of the tournament last weekend.
• Sacred Heart's point total is the lowest by a Northwestern opponent since New Orleans scored 49 Dec. 11, 2016.
• Sacred Heart committed 23 turnovers in the contest. It the most by a Northwestern opponent in Chris Collins' five seasons as head coach and the most since North Florida also had 23 Dec. 16, 2009.
• Bryant McIntosh connected on both of his free throw attempts and now has started the season with 19 straight makes from the charity stripe.
• McIntosh dished out six assists in the contest with all of them coming in the first half. He is the nation's active career leader with 586 assists.
• Scottie Lindsey narrowly missed scoring at least 20 points for the third consecutive game, finishing with a game-high 19 points. He has scored in double figures in each of the team's first six games this season. Lindsey had at least 10 points in each of Northwestern's first 20 contests last season.
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