Northwestern survives late run to beat South Carolina, 79-77
Northwestern got a nail-biting 79-77 victory over South Carolina to end the Greenbrier Tip-Off on a high note on Sunday.
The Wildcats looked firmly in control, up 74-62 with 4:52 left, but the Gamecocks came roaring back, ultimately tying the game at 77 with 29.5 seconds to go.
Northwestern head coach Chris Collins called timeout with 10.1 seconds left, got it to Nick Martinelli, who drove to his right, pivoted and found center Arrinten Page, who bulled in for a lefty layup to win it in with less than a second left.
Page had 10 points and a career-high six assists, while Martinelli led all scorers with 25, a resurgent effort after his uncharacteristic nine-point effort in the loss to Virginia in the first game of the event on Friday.
Forward Elijah Strong led the way for South Carolina with 16 points, while guard Meechie Johnson was right behind him with 15 and two key steals of Northwestern point guard Jayden Reid on back-to-back plays to cut the Wildcat lead from six to two with 2:39 left.
The Wildcats leave the multi-team event in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., with a 1-1 record and head back to Evanston with plenty to think about before their Thanksgiving Day matchup with Oklahoma State.
Here are our takeaways from the down-to-the-wire win over South Carolina that raised the Wildcats’ record to 5-1.
Northwestern responded to flaws exposed by Virginia
Martinelli was 3-for-12 in the previous game, a jarring performance, and bounced back to his usual hyper-efficient self with an 8-for-17 mark in this game, finding ways to get all of his usual floaters to fall.
But there was little doubt that Martinelli, a supreme scoring talent, would get going again. What really impressed was how the Wildcats rearranged their scoring efforts. Against the Cavaliers, Northwestern played through a Big Three model, getting the vast chunk of their shots from Martinelli, Page and Reid.
That trio took 41 of Northwestern’s 58 shots against Virginia, or 70.7%. In this game, that dropped to 31 of 53 shots, or 58.5%. The Wildcats went 10 players deep against the Gamecocks, and all 10 scored.
Rather than seek to pile up the points, Page and Reid drew the defense and fed their teammates. The Wildcats had 21 assists on 30 made field goals, with nine assists by Reid and the aforementioned six from Page. This was an especially exciting development from the big man, whose previous career best was just three.
Page used his 6-foot-11 frame to find narrow angles and cutting teammates in an impressively selfless performance. Then, when the Wildcats needed him most, he showed his scoring skills to secure the win.
There were still some nagging rebounding issues. The Gamecocks beat Northwestern on the offensive glass, 13-5, and won the overall rebounding battle, 31-26. But neither of those numbers were as apocalyptic as the Virginia game, when the Cavaliers beat them 49-25 on the glass.
It’s early in the season and the Wildcats proved they can learn from their mistakes.
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Success at shooting guard
Another improvement from the Virginia game was the bench scoring. In that game, just eight of Northwestern’s 78 points came off the bench. Against South Carolina, that number more than doubled to 22 of their 79.
A key factor was getting flamethrower Max Green going off the bench. Green was 3-for-4 from 3-point range and added a couple additional field goals to finish with 13 points. In Northwestern’s six games, Green has scored 13 or more points twice, and three or fewer four times.
Collins is still hesitant to trust Green on defense for extended periods of time, and he was limited to just 11 minutes despite the prodigious scoring. If he can round into form on that side of the ball, his future is very bright.
In the starting role is Angelo Ciaravino, whose work in the offseason has brought him up to speed as an excellent slashing guard that can get to the rim and finish in the half court or on the fast break. He had six points, four rebounds and two blocks in 30 minutes while providing crucial size at 6-foot-6. KJ Windham seems to have fallen into the third spot amongst this group; he hit just one shot, a triple, early in the game, and finished with 13 minutes played.
As a group, this trio combined for 22 points. Against Virginia, they had nine. Northwestern won’t always need 20+ from them but if they can continue to find ways to hit a 15-point benchmark as a collective, it will go a long way to keeping this offensive momentum going.
Singleton’s most fluid performance
High-ranked freshman Tre Singleton has had some growing pains, to say the least. Specifically, with foul trouble.
In Northwestern’s two previous games against Power Five opponents, he had four fouls against DePaul and five against Virginia, limiting him to 19 and 23 minutes, respectively.
Against South Carolina, Singleton got to two fouls late in the first half but was able to play mostly unencumbered, and his ability to complement this team’s seasoned stars shone through. He hit a career high 30 minutes, scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds, forced three steals and was a +3 on the night.
He’s still finding his sea legs but the trajectory is clearly pointing up.
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Collins still tinkering with his rotations
Guard Jake West was again the first player to check into the game. Though he finished with nine minutes, he made two free throws and was a +5. Forward Tyler Kropp also got limited run with a four-minute stint.
Junior guard Jordan Clayton has not been listed on the injury report for either Greenbrier game, yet didn’t play a minute. He has yet to score this season but had played 10.8 minutes per game in Northwestern’s first four contests.
With so much placed on the shoulders of Reid, a short, 5-foot-10 guard, Northwestern has struggled to insert Clayton, 6-foot-2, and Windham, 6-foot-3, next to him. They’ve found better flow and defensive integrity going to the taller options like Green and Ciaravino, both 6-foot-6.
Surprisingly, Collins has stuck to his guns on getting Martinelli some rest. Other than Virginia, when he played 38 minutes, Martinelli has played 35 or fewer in each game. The Wildcats have been able to win close games over DePaul and now South Carolina with their workhorse playing 34 and 35 minutes, respectively. It may not seem like much, but those breathers pile up over the course of a season and should leave him fresher down the stretch. It’s a really good sign they can get him off the floor even for those small windows.
If Singleton can stay out of foul trouble, that will unlock some of the smaller lineups to spell Page, who has played 28+ minutes in three straight games now.
The Wildcats head back to Evanston with lots to work on but a 5-1 record in their back pocket and plans to close out November strong with a win over Oklahoma State ahead of their Big Ten opener at Wisconsin on Dec. 3.
