Nick Martinelli scored 21 points and Arrinten Page had 17 points and nine rebounds to boost host Northwestern to a 110-63 victory against Cleveland State on Monday in Evanston, Ill.
After averaging 73 points in their first two victories, the Wildcats (3-0) reached triple digits with 60.3 percent shooting. Martinelli went 9-for-14 from the floor while swishing each of his three 3-point attempts to key Northwestern’s 52.4 percent showing from deep.
Max Green and Justin Mullins both scored 16 points for the Wildcats while Tre Singleton added 15.
Dayan Nessah paced the Vikings (1-2) with 15 points. Josiah Harris added 13 points and nine rebounds and Ivan Spirov grabbed five boards.
Northwestern, which led by as many as 52 points, pushed its advantage to 27 early in the second half. The Vikings regrouped for a stretch, with Tre Beard, Foster Wonders and Harris each swishing 3-pointers over a 1:42 span.
Cleveland State never drew closer than 18 points the rest of the way, struggling with ball control and the Wildcats’ size advantage.
Northwestern scored 33 points off 17 Cleveland State turnovers while finishing plus-13 on the glass.
Martinelli added seven rebounds and Jayden Reid had eight assists.
Steady inside play at the outset helped the Vikings to a 6-5 lead in the opening minutes, as Cleveland State scored two of its first three field goals by way of tip-in, second-chance layups.
Page stuffed home a dunk on an offensive rebound on the ensuing Wildcats possession and Northwestern never trailed after that. The slam sparked Northwestern to a 10-0 run that included another dunk from Page and a Martinelli trey off a Reid steal.
The Wildcats led 53-28 at halftime behind a balanced and efficient attack. Page (15 points), Mullins (12) and Martinelli (10) combined to shoot 15-for-19 before the break. That included a 5-for-6 effort from beyond the arc.
A driving Reid found Page for an alley-oop slam late in the first half, one of several Wildcats dunks that brought the Welsh-Ryan Arena crowd to its feet.
Cleveland State shot 40 percent and was 5-for-13 from the free-throw line.
–Field Level Media
