Nick Martinelli leads Northwestern to 70-66 overtime win over No. 19 Illinois

Published Dec. 7, 2024 12:03 a.m. ET

Associated Press

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Nick Martinelli scored 27 points, including seven in overtime, and Northwestern beat No. 19 Illinois 70-66 on Friday night.

Brooks Barnhizer added 17 points and Jalen Leach had 16 as the Wildcats (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten) overcame a 10-point deficit. Barnhizer's free throw with 8 seconds left in OT helped seal it.

Barnhizer scored on a jumper from the paint with 41 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 56-all. Illinois led 46-36 midway through the second half.

Kasparas Jakucionis led Illinois (6-2, 0-1) with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Tomislav Ivisic had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Will Riley came off the bench to score 12 points.

Northwestern beat a ranked team in its conference home opener for the second straight season after stunning Zach Edey and Purdue last year.

Takeaways

Northwestern: Bounced back after losing its conference opener 80-79 at Iowa on Tuesday on Josh Dix’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Illinois: This was a far cry from the Illini's 90-77 win over then- No. 19 Arkansas on Thanksgiving, which they started on a 21-6 run and led throughout.

Key moment

Jakucionis was blocked out by Northwestern center Matthew Nicholson and missed on a driving layup with 39 seconds left in OT and the Wildcats leading 67-66. Nicholson grabbed the rebound, and Northwestern added two points on free throws by Leach.