Field Level Media
Nov 23, 2021
Boo Buie scored 22 points and Ryan Young added 17 as Northwestern topped Georgia 78-62 on Tuesday in the consolation game of the Roman Legends Classic at Newark, N.J.
Pete Nance pitched in 14 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats (5-1), who bounced back nicely from Monday's 77-72 defeat to Providence. They led by 20 at halftime of this one before holding off a second-half push from the Bulldogs.
Braelen Bridges and Kario Oquendo scored 12 points apiece to lead Georgia (2-4). Jailyn Ingram and Aaron Cook each contributed 10 points.
The Bulldogs played better in the second half but still finished at 38.2 percent shooting from the field and 5 of 24 from 3-point range. Fourteen turnovers did not help matters either.
Georgia could not get much going offensively in the first half. The Bulldogs shot just 6 of 26 from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 1 of 12 from 3-point range. The Wildcats, meanwhile, made 8 of 17 first-half 3-pointers and led 43-23 at the break.
The Bulldogs began to gain separation when they turned a 17-14 lead into a 29-18 advantage. Buie's 3-pointer began the burst, and Young's layup capped the surge, giving Georgia its first double-digit lead of the game.
Shortly thereafter, Buie made a 3-pointer and Berry added a jumper on consecutive trips to make it 34-20. The lead ballooned to 20 when Ryan Greer made a steal and banked in a desperation heave from beyond halfcourt at the halftime buzzer.
Northwestern started strong in the second half as well, but Georgia did not go quietly go away even when the scoreboard read 54-30 with 15:36 remaining.
Oquendo scored seven points during a quick 9-0 run to get the Bulldogs back within 15. They eventually trimmed the deficit to 10 on Jabri Abdur-Rahim's layup with 9:39 to go.
However, Georgia then endured a scoring drought of more than five minutes until Oquendo drained a 3-pointer with 4:29 to go.
Nance's four points in the final two minutes helped seal the win.
--Field Level Media