Jalen Leach scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, Nick Martinelli added 20 points and Northwestern beat Pepperdine 68-50 on Friday night in Evanston.
Martinelli scored the final eight points of a 12-0 run near the end of the first half to put Northwestern ahead 31-16 before guard Jaxon Olvera made a 3-pointer to pull Pepperdine within 12 points at the break.
Pepperdine twice got within 10 points in the second half, the latter on a 3-pointer by Olvera with 14:02 left, but Northwestern scored on the following possession both times. Martinelli gave the Wildcats their largest lead at 24 points after making four straight free throws on back-to-back possessions midway through the half.
Northwestern was just 2 of 11 from 3-point range but went 18 of 21 from the free-throw line. Pepperdine was 3 of 20 from distance and shot 29% overall.
Brooks Barnhizer had 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals for Northwestern (5-1). On Tuesday, Barnhizer became the first Northwestern player to record a game of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals since at least 2005-06.
Olvera scored 11 points and Taj Au-Duke added 10 for Pepperdine (1-4). The Waves are in their first season under coach Ed Schilling, previously an assistant at Grand Canyon.
Northwestern, which closed a season-high four-game homestand, plays Butler on Friday at the Arizona Tip-Off in Tempe.
Originally Published:
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