A sloppy start and a battle composed of numerous free throws was how Northwestern men’s basketball won its first season tipoff.
Northwestern (1-0, 0-0 B1G) opened up the season strong and overwhelmed Mercyhurst
(0-1, 0-0 NEC) 70-47. Though the ‘Cats struggled to set up the tone early and looked poor on the offensive end, the home team defended home strong later with decisive momentum to secure the victory.
For Northwestern, Arrinten Page and Nick Martinelli led the scoreboard with 18 and 17, respectively. Page also had 12 rebounds in his Northwestern debut. K.J. Windham came off the bench with 11 points, including shooting three of five attempts from beyond the arc. Jayden Reid and Jordan Clayton combined for six assists.
For Mercyhurst, Jake Lemelman scored a team-high 14 points, while Bernie Blunt had eight.
Page won the tip to start Northwestern’s season opener, and the ‘Cats didn’t wait too long for the season’s first point as Tre Singleton scored off a fadeaway jumper in NU’s first possession. Martinelli powered in with another two to build up a four-point lead. As Mercyhurst double-teamed Page on the right post, he spotted Jordan Clayton on the other side with a long pass. Clayton then immediately delivered to Martinelli nearby with space, and the latter nailed down a three to keep the early momentum going.
Mercyhurst’s Jake Lemelman responded with a quick jumper on the right wing but Page answered back with another jumper, establishing the ‘Cats 11-4 advantage that forced a Lakers’ timeout. Back from the break, Northwestern went cold from deep while the Lakers fought back four straight points, and only Justin Mullins and Martinelli added three from the line after drawing a foul through a drive.
After a minute of silence, Martinelli drew a contact from a two-man defense on the right post and hit two from the charity stripe. Simultaneously, Northwestern crowded the paint to lock down Mercyhurst, which missed a consecutive series of shots under the rim at the first half midpoint. After the timeout, Reid went back up the court and scored a quick drive, and Page nailed one of two free throws to enlarge Northwestern’s lead to 19-10.
Newcomers like Max Green, Jake West and Tyler Kropp gradually entered the game, but the ‘Cats played sluggishly and struggled to score a field goal in minutes, leaning on free-throw shooting, earned from multiple physical plays, to maintain the advantage.
Northwestern then initiated a full-court press with roughly eight minutes to halftime, but both kept battling through the body and traded scores from the line. The Lakers trimmed the deficit to just six via two free throws from Lemelman. After another NU turnover, Mercyhurst rallied back with a three from Cameron Johnson from the left corner, edging the ‘Cats lead to just three.
Mullins tried to wake up the ‘Cats with a putback two after Singleton missed two shots from the line. The senior guard, with Page, combined only two from both free-throw chances, and the Lakers scored a pull-up by Lemelman in the ensuing possession to keep their look dangerous.
Leading the ‘Cats scoreboard, Martinelli battled down the paint through the contact, and his effort awarded him another two bonus balls, which he knocked down both of them. K.J. Windham also stepped up with a contested three from the right, his following layup through a transition built Northwestern a nine-point lead with a minute left to the halftime. The ‘Cats eventually gained a double-digit advantage in the final possession of the first half. Martinelli posted up on a defender, spinning downhill and hitting a hook. Northwestern led Mercyhurst 36-25 before the second half.
To open the second half, the Lakers immediately diminished the gap back to a single digit. Singleton responded with an and-one play, powering through the paint and banked the ball with a drive. Though he didn’t throw the extra ball in, Page built on the momentum with a hammer. The ‘Cats’ big man continued to muscle up down the paint that sent him to the line, and he scored two that extended Northwestern a 15-point lead. Following the flow, Windham surged with two straight shots from deep on different angles to level the advantage up to 48-29 in favor of the ‘Cats.
Reid nailed two free throws to set Northwestern’s first 20-point lead with 15 minutes left. Windham juked out the defender with a pump fake and put up a corner three; the ball bounced off the rim, but Page recovered with an offensive rebound and drew another foul. After Johnson’s jumper on the post, Mullins flew down the court with a quick drive and scored a reverse layup to maintain the 20-point dominance.
Midway through the second half, Northwestern head coach Chris Collins deployed three players from the second unit, with starters Singleton and Martinelli leading the group. Green checked in again with his first three of the season after Singleton found him wide-open on the left corner through a fastbreak. Mercyhurst, implementing a full-court press as well, capitalizing on Northwestern’s turnovers and fought back with six straight points. Before a media timeout, Reid linked up Page with an alley-oop in a transition, keeping the ‘Cats up by 17.
Reid then scored off the glass amidst a ground-ball mess; Page fought an offensive board after Martinelli missed two from the line, returning to Martinelli for an easy bucket. Regaining the 20-point lead, Martinelli continued to post threats down the perimeter with a foul, but he went cold again with his third free-throw miss.
Collins kept Singleton and Reid to lead the second unit with four minutes left. Mercyhurst’s Qadir Martin put up a drive and scored an and-one. With a leading advantage, Northwestern tested the chemistry with different combinations of the five on the court, though it went wrong first between Green and Page as both were in miscommunication via an alley-oop attempt. But Page later capitalized on a Lakers’ turnover and scored a transitional dunk. Phoenix Gill, firstly checked in during the night, wrapped up the ‘Cats’ 70-47 win over Mercyhurst with two free throws.
Northwestern will stay at home, next facing Boston University on Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. CT.
