Sunday best: NU rolls against NJIT
Ryan Young had 13 points and nine rebounds, Chase Audige added 11 points and Northwestern defeated NJIT 70-52 on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.
Pete Nance added 10 points and Boo Buie had seven assists for the Wildcats (7-2), who improved to 5-0 at home.
Northwestern led by more than 20 for much of the second half but was unable to extend its lead through the final minutes. The Wildcats shot 22-for-42 inside the arc but made only 5 of 20 from three-point range for 44% overall. They had only six turnovers, compared to 16 for NJIT.
Northwestern held the Highlanders to three points over the first eight minutes of the second half as the Wildcats’ 35-23 halftime lead ballooned to 49-26.
By the time NJIT’s Miles Coleman hit a three-pointer with 9:38 remaining in the second half, he had scored 20 of his team’s 34 points. Coleman finished with 20 points and Matt Faw added 13 for the Highlanders (5-5).
Purdue 82, N.C. State 72 (OT)
Trevion Williams had a season-high 22 points to go with 12 rebounds and a careerbest nine assists to pace the No. 1 Boilermakers in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational at the Barclays Center in New York.
Jaden Ivey added 22 points for Purdue (9-1), which had to rally from 13 down midway through the second half. Purdue never led in regulation, taking its first lead on Sasha Stefanovic’s three-pointer 15 seconds into overtime.
Stefanovic also hit a driving layup with 21.5 seconds left to force overtime, ultimately helping Purdue bounce back from a lastsecond loss at Rutgers in the program’s firstever week atop the AP Top 25.
Freshman Terquavion Smith scored a season-high 21 points for the Wolfpack (7-3).
Baylor 57, Villanova 36
James Akinjo had 16 points with seven rebounds and the No. 2 Bears defensively dominated the No. 6 Wildcats for a victory that’s likely to put the defending national champions in the top spot in the new poll.
The Bears (9-0) never trailed in their first nonconference home game ever against a topsix opponent, this one a rematch of an NCAA Sweet 16 game last March in Indianapolis.
Villanova (7-3) shot only 22% (12-for-54) and had several extended scoring droughts while being held to its fewest points in 689 games under coach Jay Wright, who is in his 21st season.
Adam Flagler had 10 points as Baylor, which won its 15th game in a row dating to last season, shot 39% (22-for-56) and was held under 69 points for the first time this season.
Indiana 81, Merrimack 49
Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 16 points and Race Thompson added 14 on 6-for-6 shooting to lead Indiana (8-2), which remains unbeaten in eight games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Jackson-Davis added nine rebounds and blocked three shots.