Thursday, January 16
Evanston, Ill.
8 p.m. CT
Northwestern
11-6,2-4Big Ten
76
vs
74
Maryland
13-5,3-4Big Ten
1
2
OT 1
F
Maryland
37
31
6
74
Northwestern
38
30
8
76
Martinelli Hits Game-Winner in Overtime Thriller, ‘Cats Beat Maryland 76-74
1/17/2025 12:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. - Junior Nick Martinelli drained a game-winning buzzer-beater on a fadeaway baseline jump shot to give Northwestern a 76-74 overtime win over Maryland inside Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday night.
Graduate student Jalen Leach inbounded the ball with 0.7 seconds left to Martinelli who ran off a curl and drained the jump shot to give the Wildcats (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) their first game-winner as time expired since Dererk Pardon against Michigan on March 1, 2017.
"We just had some curling action," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "It's a play we run a lot. They do a lot of switching, and the guy who's out of bounds has a tendency to turn and kind of find, so we wanted to have multiple actions so the inbounder's man couldn't just turn and find one guy."
"What a win," Collins said. "I'm just so proud of my guys. It's been a tough couple weeks. Any time you go through this league, every team in this league puts a lot into every single game, and when you have a couple week stretch where you don't win, it's hard. You just have to keep fighting."
Martinelli posted a team-high 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists on 9-of-14 shooting. Martinelli has scored 20+ points in consecutive games.
Senior Brooks Barnhizer stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks, marking his eighth double-double in his last 10 games. Barnhizer recorded his fifth 20+ point, 10+ rebound, and 5+ assist game of the season, which leads the nation. Barnhizer surpassed the 1,000 point mark in the second half, becoming the 42nd Wildcat to reach the 1,000 point milestone. He is the first Wildcat to post career numbers of 1,000 points, 500+ rebounds and 100+ steals since Vic Law (2014-19).
First-year Angelo Ciaravino made his first career start, becoming the first Northwestern first-year to start a Big Ten game since March 6, 2022, when Julian Roper II started against Minnesota. Coming off the bench for the first time since his sophomore season, Berry logged 15 points, canning 3-of-8 threes, alongside three rebounds. Berry scored his third 15+ point game of the season and the 17th of his career.
Gallery: (1-16-2025) Men's Basketball vs. Maryland
Northwestern held the Terrapins (13-5, 3-4 Big Ten) to 68 points in regulation, their lowest output in regulation of the season. The Wildcats forced Maryland to shoot 38.1% (24-of-63) from the field, its lowest mark of the season. Northwestern forced 16 Terrapins turnovers, Maryland's most turnovers in a game this season, and blocked seven shots.
In the first half, neither team had more than a six point lead, as the teams traded the lead 11 times. As the clock ticked down in the half, Maryland held a one point lead, but Barnhizer connected with Martinelli for a layup as time expired to make it 38-37 at the break. Northwestern converted 15-of-27 (55.6%) field of attempts in the stanza.
The Wildcats went on a 13-0 run from 14:34 to 10:42 in the second half, which put them up by 10 points with a shade under 11 minutes. In the middle of the run, Barnhizer's fastbreak dunk with 12:44 remaining put him over the 1,000-point mark.
"It's just a testament to our program, how much we love each other and everything, so it means a lot to just join that company," Barnhizer said.
With two minutes remaining, Northwestern led by six points, but the Terrapins forced overtime at 68-68. Martinelli hit a floater as the shot clock expired with 2:37 remaining in overtime for his 20th point and to tie the game at 72-72. With 17 seconds remaining in overtime, Barnhizer converted a layup to give the 'Cats a 74-72 lead.
Maryland responded with a layup to even the game before Martinelli's game-winner.
"I'm grateful they did go to me, and I'm just grateful we won," Martinelli said. "That play, obviously, it's cool, but it does not define the game at all. There were so many people who had to make big plays."
Northwestern travels to Ann Arbor, Michigan to take on No. 20 Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. CT. The game will air on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.
Graduate student Jalen Leach inbounded the ball with 0.7 seconds left to Martinelli who ran off a curl and drained the jump shot to give the Wildcats (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) their first game-winner as time expired since Dererk Pardon against Michigan on March 1, 2017.
"We just had some curling action," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "It's a play we run a lot. They do a lot of switching, and the guy who's out of bounds has a tendency to turn and kind of find, so we wanted to have multiple actions so the inbounder's man couldn't just turn and find one guy."
With the win, the 'Cats are 3-0 in overtime games this season and undefeated in overtime home games over the past two seasons.PROTECT THIS HOUSE ??? pic.twitter.com/M195DXDQtg
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) January 17, 2025
"What a win," Collins said. "I'm just so proud of my guys. It's been a tough couple weeks. Any time you go through this league, every team in this league puts a lot into every single game, and when you have a couple week stretch where you don't win, it's hard. You just have to keep fighting."
Martinelli posted a team-high 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists on 9-of-14 shooting. Martinelli has scored 20+ points in consecutive games.
Senior Brooks Barnhizer stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks, marking his eighth double-double in his last 10 games. Barnhizer recorded his fifth 20+ point, 10+ rebound, and 5+ assist game of the season, which leads the nation. Barnhizer surpassed the 1,000 point mark in the second half, becoming the 42nd Wildcat to reach the 1,000 point milestone. He is the first Wildcat to post career numbers of 1,000 points, 500+ rebounds and 100+ steals since Vic Law (2014-19).
First-year Angelo Ciaravino made his first career start, becoming the first Northwestern first-year to start a Big Ten game since March 6, 2022, when Julian Roper II started against Minnesota. Coming off the bench for the first time since his sophomore season, Berry logged 15 points, canning 3-of-8 threes, alongside three rebounds. Berry scored his third 15+ point game of the season and the 17th of his career.
Northwestern held the Terrapins (13-5, 3-4 Big Ten) to 68 points in regulation, their lowest output in regulation of the season. The Wildcats forced Maryland to shoot 38.1% (24-of-63) from the field, its lowest mark of the season. Northwestern forced 16 Terrapins turnovers, Maryland's most turnovers in a game this season, and blocked seven shots.
In the first half, neither team had more than a six point lead, as the teams traded the lead 11 times. As the clock ticked down in the half, Maryland held a one point lead, but Barnhizer connected with Martinelli for a layup as time expired to make it 38-37 at the break. Northwestern converted 15-of-27 (55.6%) field of attempts in the stanza.
The Wildcats went on a 13-0 run from 14:34 to 10:42 in the second half, which put them up by 10 points with a shade under 11 minutes. In the middle of the run, Barnhizer's fastbreak dunk with 12:44 remaining put him over the 1,000-point mark.
"It's just a testament to our program, how much we love each other and everything, so it means a lot to just join that company," Barnhizer said.
With two minutes remaining, Northwestern led by six points, but the Terrapins forced overtime at 68-68. Martinelli hit a floater as the shot clock expired with 2:37 remaining in overtime for his 20th point and to tie the game at 72-72. With 17 seconds remaining in overtime, Barnhizer converted a layup to give the 'Cats a 74-72 lead.
Maryland responded with a layup to even the game before Martinelli's game-winner.
"I'm grateful they did go to me, and I'm just grateful we won," Martinelli said. "That play, obviously, it's cool, but it does not define the game at all. There were so many people who had to make big plays."
Northwestern travels to Ann Arbor, Michigan to take on No. 20 Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. CT. The game will air on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.
Team Stats
MD
NU
FG%
.381
.483
3FG%
.300
.316
FT%
.909
.632
RB
39
33
TO
16
13
STL
7
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballNorthwestern Men's Basketball Cooking Competition
Sunday, July 20
GRITTY AS IT GETS: Brooks Barnhizer Supercut 🎥
Thursday, June 26
Men's Basketball - Chris Collins on B1G Today
Tuesday, April 08
Men's Basketball - Wisconsin Postgame Press Conference (3/13/25)
Thursday, March 13
