Keaton Wagler scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half while leading No. 13 Illinois to a 79-68 Big Ten victory over Northwestern on Wednesday night in Evanston, Ill.
Tomislav Ivisic contributed 14 of his season-high-tying 21 points in the second half — including two crucial 3-pointers late — as the Fighting Illini (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) extended their winning streak to six games. Kylan Boswell added 13 points and six assists.
Point guard Jayden Reid, dropped from the Northwestern starting lineup for the first time this season, delivered a career-high 28 points off the bench to pace the Wildcats (8-9, 0-6). Nick Martinelli, the nation’s leading scorer at 24.1 points per game, finished with 20 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field.
The Wildcats dropped their fourth game in a row.
Despite Martinelli wriggling free for just one shot in the first 15 minutes, Northwestern shrugged off an early 6-0 deficit to swap the lead with the Illini eight times in the first half. Martinelli finally launched his second shot at the 4:41 mark and drilled a 3-pointer to forge a 25-25 tie.
Tre Singleton’s putback gave the Wildcats a 27-25 edge, but the Illini responded with a driving layup from Andrej Stojakovic, a 3-pointer from Ivisic and banked 3-pointer from the wing by David Mirkovic that led Northwestern to take a timeout with 2:30 to go.
Martinelli wound up with 11 points in the first half, but Illinois carried a 38-33 lead into the break despite going 4-for-18 from 3-point range.
Illinois wasted little time blitzing Northwestern after halftime. The Illini scored on their first five possessions — including back-to-back 3-pointers by Wagler and Ivisic that forced a Northwestern timeout — to take a 50-40 lead.
Reid responded by sinking two free throws, an open 3-pointer and a 17-foot stepback to pull Northwestern within 53-47 with 13:28 to play.
Once again, Illinois tried to pull away. Jake Davis buried a 3-pointer from the corner just before the shot clock expired, then Wagler slashed to the basket for a three-point play and swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Illini their biggest lead at 62-47.
That inspired Reid to one-up Wagler. He hit a baseline jumper, swiped the ball from Wagler and drew a flagrant-1 foul for two free throws, cashed a 3-pointer from the corner and hit a free throw after Illinois’ bench was whistled for a technical foul. When Reid drove and dished to Arrinten Page for a dunk, the Wildcats pulled within 62-57 at the 7:50 mark.
Ivisic drained back-to-back 3-pointers from the same spot on the left wing to give Illinois a 75-65 edge with 2:06 to go.
