Quick Reaction: Northwesterns comeback comes to a short in 81-75 loss to Oregon

Northwestern Basketball has become synonymous with dense finish.

Wildcats (13-12, 4-10 b1g) could not catch their first road victory in Eugene, which fell to Oregon (17-8, 6-8 b1g) 81-75, ducking their five games sliding.

For Northwestern, the KJ Windham stole the show. He had 20 points from the bench-15 came in the second half-8-for-14 shooting and 4-for-7 from three. Ty Berry led the way to score with 23 points on 8-for-10 overall and 4-for-5s beyond the arch. Nick Martinelli was also alive late and ended with 16 on 7-for-18 from the field.

The ducks were led by Jackson Shelstad. He set a new career mound with 26 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the field, 4-for-6 from three and 6-for-6 from the free throwing line. Keeshawn Barthelemy had 19 on 5-for-10 overall, 4-for-6 from deep and 5-for-6 from Stripe, and Nate Bittle had 14 on 5-for-12 shooting to go with 7 rebounds.

Oregon won tips and scored on his first possession thanks to a set -up from Shelstad. Bittle, the other “Top Lighthouse” for the ducks, quickly got the lead up to four. Jordan Clayton first hit the back-of-network for Wildcats, which was followed by a Matthew Nicholson Put-back to tie the game on four. Oregon responded with a 7-0 race, and at the first media hourout, Northwestern was down 11-4 with Oregon shooting 4-for-7 in the first five minutes.

Out of the break, it was Martinelli’s signature paint flip shot to end Oregon’s race. Berry then drilled a three pointer to solidify his place as fifth all the time in triangles made into a northwest player. Martinelli worked his changing magic again to tie the game on 11 from a good fit from Windham. TJ Bamba ended the ‘Cats scoring race with one lying in, but Windham answered with a pull-up three to give Northwestern his first lead.

Shelstad was not a fan and hit his own pull-up three, followed by a triple from Barthelemy to give Oregon a 19-14 lead when Chris Collins was forced to call a timeout.

Windham had a fire under him tonight when he scored first out of the stop. Angelo Ciaravino followed up with a hard shot inside the paint and supplemented his colleague his colleague the first year. Shelstad stopped the beginner party with a three over Nicholson. Over the next minute, no team was able to get one to fall, eventually ending in a media break after an Oregon error. The ducks led 24-18 with less than eight minutes left.

The violations remained sluggish after timeout, where Bittle eventually threw it down a minute later. Keenan Fitzmorris replied with a jam of his own from a smart game from Justin Mullins. Brandon Angel then made two baskets in a row to give the ducks a double -digit lead. A couple of Martinelli-Fripark was all that followed until another media hourlyout, this time Northwestern was down 30-22.

Out of the break, two free kicks and the first points for Ra’h’heim Moss the ducks gave a 12 -point lead. ‘Cats couldn’t find nets as the offense was icy. Dana Altman called a quick 30-second timeout and he was rewarded with a set up from Barthelemy. To add insult to injuries, he drilled a three marker to give Oregon his biggest lead in any Big Ten game this season of 17 points. Berry quickly responded with a three of its own to dampen the amount. Those were the last points of the first half when Oregon entered the break with a 39-25 lead. For Wildcats, Martinelli and Berry had every six, and Windham had five. For the ducks, Shelstad led all scores with 13, while Bittle and Barthelemy each had eight. Oregon shoots 50% from the field and 41.7% from three compared to Northwesterns 38.5% and 30%.

Mullins opened the second half with layup and was answered by a BITTLE elbow jumper. Clayton made a desk-up jumper of his own, but Shelstad would present himself to the second half. The offensive barrier continued with a beautiful care from Nicholson to Martinelli, then followed by a Beltle Post hook. Berry made his third three of the night, but Barthelemy responded right back. Martinelli couldn’t continue the Northwestern Hot Streak, but Bamba went coast to the coast to put it in and give Oregon a 16-point lead. Berry showed the crowd that he wouldn’t just shoot triangles as he hit a tough long range two. Windham then scored on the next possession for ‘Cats and was set to shoot a free throw, but not until the first media -hourout in the second half. Northwestern was down 50-38 after a scoring party from both teams.

Oregon continued to shoot at all cylinders, finally missing their first shot in the second half after walking 6-for-6. After the ducks first Miss, Windham made his fourth shot of the game. Berry made another deep two to get him up to 13 at night and to cut the Oregon lead to 10. Shelstad was caught in the corner thanks to a good defense from Berry and the ducks were forced to call a timeout. Northwestern drew 52-42 with just over 13 minutes left.

Shelstad continued his dominance with a couple of free kicks. Berry then hit a little step-back two, but Shelstad made a three at the other end to get 20 points at night. Martinelli continued to fight for ‘cats with a hard and a finish on another chance option. Oregon led 57-46 with a lot of basketball to still be played.

Martinelli couldn’t quit and one out of the break, but Clayton would make a tough set up on the subsequent possession to cut Oregon’s lead to only 10. Two more made bad shots became northwest in a 12-point hole. The success of free throwing continued with Altman’s team as they shoot 11-12 from the strip with nine minutes to go in the game. ‘Cats continued to try to itch at the ducks’ lead as the next media-hourout hit with Oregon up 64-51 and barely eight minutes left.

Windham entered double digits after timeout with a three marker and Berry hit the 20-point mark. Shelstad stood up to 22 points with a presentation, but Windham hit his third three of the night to get ‘cats within seven. Windham then did it again to get the game for two holders, forcing Altman to call a timeout.

Barthelemy responded a huge three before the buzzer to try to finish the fire from Wildcats. However, Windham Nicholson found in the paint for a light was in. Thanks to Windham’s 13 half of the second half, Northwestern was only down 70-64 with just under four minutes left.

Martinelli made a hard basket to cut the duck lead to five, but Northwestern continued to put Oregon on the line. Shelstad continued to dominate from all locations of the court and hit two free kicks to get the lead back to seven for the ducks. However, Martinelli answered with a two of his own and was followed by a Collins Timeout. Oregon continued to be sent to the bad line and continued to shoot light out of that place. Berry hit a late three with 11 seconds to go and cut the lead to six, but that wasn’t enough when Oregon lasted for the victory.

Northwestern will be back in action on Sunday at home against Nebraska after five days free to recover from West Coast Road Trip.