Northwestern University

TEMPE, Ariz. – senior Brooks Barnhizer earned a 66-61 Northwestern win over UNLV in the Arizona Tip-Off by filling the stat sheet with team-highs of 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.

“CATS WIN! ?? pic.twitter.com/3Vy1rnYr8w

– Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) November 30, 2024

PhD student Jalen Leach contributed 15 points and converted 5 of 6 field goals and 3 of 3 from distance. PhD student Matthew Nicholson posted 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 in the last 10 years. Junior Nick Martinelli added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Barnhizer’s performance resulted in him scoring 20-plus points in a row for the second time in his career, while he became the first Wildcat to score 20-plus points, seven-plus rebounds, five-plus assists since Scottie Lindsey on January 15, 2017 and more than 3 p.m. scored Iowa. He is the fourth Northwestern player to post those numbers since 2005-06.

Leach got the Cats going by hitting a three-pointer for the team’s first points. At about the 10-minute mark, Barhizer made two three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, but Northwestern soon found itself trailing 23-16, its largest deficit of the game.

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

Northwestern made four three-pointers in the first half, matching or exceeding its previous three games. For the entire game, the Wildcats knocked down 8 of 18 (44.4%) of their three-point attempts. Northwestern is 3-0 this season when converting over 40% of its attempts from beyond the arc.

With just over six minutes left, Leach hit a three-pointer off an assist from Martinelli to give NU a 54-49 lead. Both teams remained scoreless for two and a half minutes, but Barnhizer broke the goal drought with a tough mid-range shot to put Northwestern ahead 56-49.

With NU leading 58-54 with just under 1:20 left, Barnhizer finished the game with a drive to the left followed by a spin to the right to convert a layup. The goal through contact marked his 23rd point of the game, just one point shy of his career high.

Gallery: (11/29/2024) Men’s Basketball vs. UNLV

During the tilt, the Cats grabbed 12 offensive rebounds. Northwestern is 7-0 since the start of last season when it knocked 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 to face Iowa on Tuesday, December 3 at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.