Northwestern University

On By Littum

TEMPE, Ariz. – Senior Brooks Barnhizer piloted a 66-61 Northwestern win against UNLV in the Arizona Tip-Off by stuffing the stat sheet with a team-high 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four three-pointers.

The contest was a back-and-forth battle with neither team leading by double digits. The Rebels (4-3) led by as many as seven in the first half, but the Wildcats (6-2) took the lead with 14 seconds left in the first half and never trailed again.

Master’s student Jalen Leach contributed 15 points while converting 5-of-6 field goals and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Master’s student Matthew Nicholson tallied eight points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks, becoming the fifth Northwestern player to post at least those numbers in a game over the last 10 years. Junior Nick Martinelli added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Barnhizer’s effort resulted in 20+ consecutive points for the second time in his career while becoming the first Wildcat to post 20+ points, 7+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 3+ 3PM since Scottie Lindsey on January 15, 2017 vs. Scottie Lindsey. Iowa. He is the fourth Northwestern player to post those numbers since 2005-06.

Leach got the ‘Cats going by draining a three for the team’s first points. Around the 10-minute mark, Barhizer hit a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions, but Northwestern quickly fell into a 23-16 deficit, its largest of the game.

From that point, the ‘Cats went on a 10-2 run – including an 8-0 burst in the final two minutes of the half – to take a 26-25 lead heading into halftime. Barnhizer scored seven of the ten points on that run, including his third three of the half. The Lafayette, Indiana native tallied 13 of the team’s 26 first-half points.

Northwestern hit four threes in the first half, matching or exceeding its output in the previous three games. Throughout the game, the Wildcats knocked down 8-of-18 (44.4%) of their three-point attempts. Northwestern is 3-0 this season as he converted over 40% of his attempts from beyond the arc.

With a shade over six minutes remaining, Leach drained a three off a Martinelli assist to put NU up 54-49. Both teams were held scoreless for two and a half minutes, but Barnhizer broke the scoring drought with a hard mid-range jumper to put Northwestern up 56-49.

With NU leading 58-54 with just under 1:20 remaining, Barnhizer put the game to rest with a drive back, followed by a spin to the right to convert an and-one layup. The score through contact marked his 23rd point of the game, just one point shy of his career high.

Gallery: (29-11-2024) Men’s basketball vs. UNLV

During the tilt, the ‘Cats pulled down 12 offensive rebounds. Northwestern is 7-0 dating back to the start of last season when it pulls down 12 or more offensive boards. Additionally, the ‘Cats assisted on 15 of their 20 made field goals en route to their first win in program history over UNLV.

Northwestern travels to Iowa City, Iowa for a matchup with Iowa on Tuesday, December 3 at 7 p.m. 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.