Huskers can't keep up with Pardon, Northwestern in 73-61 defeat
There’s just something about Nebraska that brings out the best in Northwestern’s Dererk Pardon.
After averaging 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds over his first three meetings with the Huskers, the sophomore center came up with his best performance yet by dropping 19 points and 22 boards to lead the Wildcats to a 73-61 victory on Thursday night in Evanston, Ill.
The Huskers had no answer for Pardon down low and were outscored 18-8 on second-chance points, helping turn a once close game into a 19-point deficit in the final minutes before all was said and done.
The defeat marks NU’s fifth in a row, dropping it to 9-11 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten, and the 12-point final margin stands as its worst loss yet in conference play.
"Pardon owned us inside," head coach Tim Miles said on his post-game radio show on the Husker Sports Network. "Michael (Jacobson) is more of a four man, and they kept that matchup. Every time Jordy (Tshimanga) came in, Pardon came out. They played that smart... Really, that's kind of the story of the game in my book."
Nebraska fell behind 12-6 out of the gates, as it’s offense once again struggled to get going. Eventually, though, the Huskers were able to create some points through their defense.
Back-to-back steals by guards Glynn Watson and Tai Webster helped spark a 12-2 run by NU that gave them their first lead of the night at 16-14. Nebraska ended up forcing five Wildcat turnovers in the first seven minutes while holding Northwestern scoreless for just over four minutes of play.
Both offenses would quickly go ice cold from there, until Northwestern’s Isiah Brown and Nebraska’s Jack McVeigh traded 3-pointers in the final 1:39 to send the Huskers into halftime trailing 32-29.
The difference of the first half for the Wildcats was Pardon, who nearly posted a double-double before halftime with nine points and 13 rebounds.
"We didn't make hay when we could have," Miles said. "In the first half we stopped them on how many straight possessions, (but) we missed inside shots, missed bonuses (at the free throw line), we had turnovers on offensive fouls or illegal screens...
"We just didn't play well. We played hard enough... but we just didn't execute well enough on offense."
The Huskers were able to cut the deficit down to one to start the second half, but Northwestern responded by reeling off five straight to make it 39-33 at under-16 timeout.
The Wildcats then pushed the lead to their biggest margin yet at 47-39 on a 3-pointer by Vic Law with just under 11 minutes to play. Law ended up with 20 points on the night, with 14 of those coming in the second half.
The lids then temporarily came off the baskets for both teams, as they combined for 16 total points in less than two minutes, but the Huskers still trailed 53-46.
Four straight points by Watson got Nebraska to within 57-53 with five minutes to go, but Northwestern once again was able to separate with a 6-0 run to make it 63-53 just over a minute later.
A 3-pointer by Sanjay Lumpkin and a put-back dunk by Law would help make it a 15-1 run, and it would be all semantics from there.
Webster ended up with 23 points but on just 9-of-23 shooting, while Watson added 14 points for the only Huskers to score in double figures.
Nebraska will return to Lincoln on Sunday to host Purdue for a 3:30 p.m. tip on Big Ten Network.
"We made a lot of mistakes," Miles said. "But you've got to learn from this. In the Big Ten, like any league, they just keep coming at you... We've got Purdue waiting on us.
"I just told our guys: losing visits. How long do you let him stay? You've got to treat losing as a visitor. I've said this a bazillion times to all my teams: winning doesn't make you a winner, and losing doesn't make you a loser. How you handle those things is really how you do it.
"If we don't treat this like losing is just stopping by, then we're going to do it wrong. We need to have a great deal of determination. I said, '90 percent of the world doesn't think we can beat Purdue. Great. Let's disappoint everybody.'"