Victory is gift-wrapped
Bad foul costs Commodores
SALT LAKE CITY - At Northwestern, the party goes on.
At Vanderbilt, there is only one question: What was he thinking?
Northwestern’s first NCAA Tournament victory, 68-66 over Vanderbilt, came after Commodores guard Matthew Fisher-Davis inexplicably grabbed Bryant McIntosh of the Wildcats (24-11) on purpose, sending McIntosh to the free-throw line for the go-ahead points with 14.6 seconds left.
“I actually thought we were down one,” FisherDavis explained after Thursday’s heart-breaker in the West region. “Coach … pointed at him, but he was just telling me that was my matchup. I took it as (I should) foul.”
And though Fisher-Davis scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half to help ninth-seeded Vandy (19-16) rally from 15 points down, his mistake was the main takeaway from this game.
“An honest mistake,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins called it. “Certainly, I was surprised.”
The play was set up after former Brookfield Central star Riley LaChance made a layup with 17.8 seconds left to put the Commodores up by one.
But seconds after the inbounds pass, Fisher-Davis reached out and grabbed McIntosh around the waist while the Northwestern guard was dribbling up the backcourt. That put eighth-seeded Northwestern in the double bonus, and McIntosh went to the line and calmly swished the free throws for a 67-66 lead.
“When he grabbed me, I had thought we were down one, and I’m thinking maybe I made a mistake,” he said. “I had to put my mind on making the free throws at the end.”