CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Despite a late comeback attempt, Northwestern was topped by Illinois, 81-76, on Sunday afternoon at the State Farm Center. NU and Illinois finished their season series tied, with each team prevailing in their home affair.
Senior center Dererk Pardon again was dominant, scoring 16 points. Graduate guard Ryan Taylor, first-year forward Miller Kopp, and redshirt junior forward A.J. Turner joined Pardon in double-digits, finishing with 13, 13, and 12, respectively.
Illinois held a 12-point advantage after the first stanza, leading the contest, 39-27. Pardon led the 'Cats through the first 20 minutes with 11 points on four-of-six shooting. He also added four rebounds.
NU was limited offensively in the first half, shooting 30 percent from the field (10-of-33) while going one-of-13 from beyond the arc (8 percent). NU did dominate offensive rebounding in the first half, leading Illinois, 5-1, in the category.
Northwestern outscored Illinois, 49-42, in the second half. NU held Illinois without a field goal over the final six minutes and 13 seconds of the affair.
The Wildcats' three-point shooting finally found its groove in the second half with five makes from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes back from intermission. Ryan Taylor was responsible for three of those three-pointers, marking his first game with three-plus three-pointers since making four at Rutgers on Jan. 18, 2019.
Miller Kopp also assisted in the NU outburst, making back-to-back-to-back buckets to close the Illinois lead to only six. An emphatic fastbreak dunk by Kopp made the score 56-50 before a fastbreak layup made it 58-52.
The NU offense went through a bit of a lull but picked back up with three minutes left in the game. A Pardon free throw made the contest a six-point game with the Fighting Illini leading, 74-68, at 1:49 left in the game.
With 44 seconds in the contest, Kopp made a clutch free throw to make it a five-point game at 76-71. Illinois would make their final free throws to win, 81-76.
The Wildcats were downed by a bevy of Illinois free throws. The Fighting Illini made 33 of their 38 free throws, the most made free throws by a Big Ten team in a regulation Conference game this season.
Northwestern will play its penultimate regular season contest of the season on Wednesday, March 6, as they host Ohio State. The contest is set to begin at 8 p.m. CT.
Senior center Dererk Pardon again was dominant, scoring 16 points. Graduate guard Ryan Taylor, first-year forward Miller Kopp, and redshirt junior forward A.J. Turner joined Pardon in double-digits, finishing with 13, 13, and 12, respectively.
Illinois held a 12-point advantage after the first stanza, leading the contest, 39-27. Pardon led the 'Cats through the first 20 minutes with 11 points on four-of-six shooting. He also added four rebounds.
NU was limited offensively in the first half, shooting 30 percent from the field (10-of-33) while going one-of-13 from beyond the arc (8 percent). NU did dominate offensive rebounding in the first half, leading Illinois, 5-1, in the category.
Northwestern outscored Illinois, 49-42, in the second half. NU held Illinois without a field goal over the final six minutes and 13 seconds of the affair.
The Wildcats' three-point shooting finally found its groove in the second half with five makes from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes back from intermission. Ryan Taylor was responsible for three of those three-pointers, marking his first game with three-plus three-pointers since making four at Rutgers on Jan. 18, 2019.
Miller Kopp also assisted in the NU outburst, making back-to-back-to-back buckets to close the Illinois lead to only six. An emphatic fastbreak dunk by Kopp made the score 56-50 before a fastbreak layup made it 58-52.
The NU offense went through a bit of a lull but picked back up with three minutes left in the game. A Pardon free throw made the contest a six-point game with the Fighting Illini leading, 74-68, at 1:49 left in the game.
With 44 seconds in the contest, Kopp made a clutch free throw to make it a five-point game at 76-71. Illinois would make their final free throws to win, 81-76.
The Wildcats were downed by a bevy of Illinois free throws. The Fighting Illini made 33 of their 38 free throws, the most made free throws by a Big Ten team in a regulation Conference game this season.
Northwestern will play its penultimate regular season contest of the season on Wednesday, March 6, as they host Ohio State. The contest is set to begin at 8 p.m. CT.