Nick Martinelli poured in 29 points in 30 minutes to pace Northwestern to an 86-70 nonconference victory over Valparaiso on Tuesday night in Evanston, Ill.
Arrinten Page scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half for the Wildcats (7-4), who shot 54.1% from the field. Jayden Reid contributed 13 points and five assists while Tre Singleton added 10 points off the bench.
JT Pettigrew paced Valparaiso (6-5) with 13 points and six rebounds. Brody Whitaker notched 12 points, and reserve Justus McNair scored 10.
The Wildcats blistered the Beacons from the jump. Jordan Clayton drilled a 3-pointer on the game’s first possession to spark a 7-0 start. Soon after Valparaiso finally got on the board, Northwestern reeled off eight straight points — capped by Justin Mullins’ fastbreak slam after forcing a turnover — to force the Beacons to take a timeout trailing 17-5 at the 13:13 mark.
Northwestern hit six consecutive field-goal attempts to push its lead to 21-8, then missed seven straight shortly thereafter to give the Beacons time to slash the deficit. When Whitaker swished a 10-foot pullup for a second-chance basket, he pulled Valparaiso within 23-18 with 7:17 left in the half.
Martinelli provided the answer by slashing to the hoop and hitting a circus shot for a layup while getting fouled and falling to the ground to slow Northwestern’s struggles. Martinelli finished the first half with a game-high 12 points — but two fouls — as the Wildcats took a 39-30 lead into the break.
Valparaiso had chances to get closer than eight early in the second half, but when the Beacons didn’t take advantage, the Wildcats pulled away. Clayton sank a 3-pointer before Martinelli enjoyed a personal 8-0 spree over a mere 54 seconds.
The lefty sank a right-handed layup for a three-point play, bullied his way into the lane for a jump hook and then hit a 3-pointer to give Northwestern a 51-32 lead that forced Valparaiso to burn another timeout with 16:20 to play.
Martinelli picked up his third foul a minute later and took a seat, which inspired Page to seize the reins and reel off 10 straight points. The versatile junior center posted up for a lefty jump hook, drew a foul for a free throw, buried a rainbow 3-pointer from the top of the key, took a defender off the bounce for a 15-foot baseline fadeaway and then slashed for a dunk to make it 61-37 with 12:23 to go.
–Field Level Media
