Rutgers Blows Halftime Lead, Loses To Northwestern 69-60

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights jumped out to an early 7-0 lead against the Northwestern Wildcats on Thursday, and then led 18-19 with 2:04 remaining in the first half before the latter team trimmed their deficit to 28-25 just before the break.

Rutgers Blows Halftime Lead, Loses To Northwestern 69-60

The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run early in the second half to erase Rutgers’ lead, and raced to a 69-60 victory over the Scarlet Knights before 3,723 fans at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

Northwestern’s largest lead was 15, when they got ahead 62-47 with 2:52 left.

Corey Sanders led the Scarlet Knights with 18 points on 7-for-17 shooting, while Deshawn Freeman posted a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

The Wildcats improved to 14-4 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play, while the Knights fell to 11-7 overall and 0-5 in Big Ten play in losing their sixth consecutive game. Northwestern have won consecutive games following a two-game skid.

“I thought we played really hard,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “You have to make some shots. Forty minutes have been an issue, and we had 33 really good minutes.”

Rutgers have also fallen to 3-40 in conference play ever since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15.

Although Northwestern small forward Vic Law led all scorers with 23 points and eight rebounds, it was the Wildcats’ defense that ultimately helped fuel the comeback win.

Northwestern compiled a school-record 15 blocked shots, and held Rutgers to 31.9 percent shooting from the floor and 65.2 percent from the free-throw line.

The Wildcats improved to 7-1 over the Scarlet Knights in the all-time series.

Northwestern next host Iowa on Sunday, when Rutgers host the Indiana Hoosiers.

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 22: Isiah Brown #12 of the Northwestern Wildcats dribbles up court against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first half during the championship game of the Legends Classic at Barclays Center on November 22, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)