Ace Bailey scored 37 points and Tyson Acuff added 13 to steer visiting Rutgers past Northwestern 79-72 on Wednesday in Evanston, Ill.
Bailey, a freshman, finished two points shy of his career high of 39 set Jan. 2 at Indiana. He went 13-for-20 from the floor while contributing three blocks to a defensive showing that limited Northwestern to 42.4 percent shooting.
Rutgers (11-10, 4-6 Big Ten) stopped a two-game skid behind a 57.1 percent effort from the floor, offsetting the absence of point guard Dylan Harper. Rutgers’ second-leading scorer behind his classmate, Bailey, Harper was held out as he recovers from a high ankle sprain. He sustained the injury Jan. 20 and played just 13 minutes Saturday.
The Wildcats (12-9, 3-7) have lost six of eight. After drawing within 45-42 with 17:05 remaining, Northwestern slumped through a scoring drought of 5:26 before Jalen Leach hit a pair of free throws. That trimmed the deficit to eight, but Bailey answered with a trey on the ensuing possession. Rutgers led by as many as 15 in the second half.
Leach paced Northwestern with 23 points. He has scored at least 15 points in five of the past six games. Nick Martinelli had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds while Brooks Barnhizer added 10 points and nine boards.
Northwestern raced to a 13-4 advantage after just 5:15, benefiting from a hot start from Leach, who contributed five points during the stretch.
Rutgers regrouped behind a sparkling effort from Bailey. The leading scorer in the conference registered 24 first-half points on 9-for-10 shooting, including 4-for-4 from long range. Bailey connected on eight successive shots after missing his first attempt of the game. He showed his versatility throughout, converting an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Jamichael Davis with 6:25 left before the break.
Davis dished eight assists. Lathan Sommerville and Bailey both grabbed six rebounds for Rutgers, which led 43-35 at halftime.
The Wildcats finished plus-seven on the glass.
Rutgers won for the eighth time in the past 10 meetings.
–Field Level Media
