EVANSTON, Ill. – 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 eight seconds before the end of stoppage time helped seal the win.

Barnhizer scored 41 seconds before the end of regular time with a jump from the field to make it 56-0. Midway through the second half, Illinois led 46-36.

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 defeated a ranked team in the conference home opener for the second straight year after overwhelming Zach Edey and Purdue last year.

Takeaways

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

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

Key moment

Blocked by Northwestern center Matthew Nicholson, Jakucionis missed a layup with 39 seconds left in overtime and the Wildcats led 67-66. Nicholson grabbed the rebound and Northwestern added two points on free throws from Leach.

Key statistics

Illinois scored 11 to four turnovers for Northwestern.

Next

Illinois hosts No. 11 Wisconsin on Tuesday. Northwestern plays at Georgia Tech on December 15th.

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