Field Level Media
Nov 25, 2018
Senior guard Vic Law scored 14 of his game-high 19 points in the second half as Northwestern earned a 79-57 victory over Utah on Sunday in the fifth-place game of the Wooden Legacy tournament at Fullerton, Calif.
Senior center Dererk Pardon added 15 points as the Wildcats (5-1) won their second consecutive game in the tournament after losing to Fresno State in the opener on Thursday.
Senior guard Sedrick Barefield scored 15 points for the Utes (3-3), who lost two games in the tournament, falling to Hawaii in the opener on Thursday.
It was just the second victory against a Pac-12 team in its last 11 tries for Northwestern, who last defeated a team from the conference in 2009 when the Wildcats topped Stanford.
Utah has now lost consecutive games to Northwestern, falling 77-44 at San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2006. The all-time series between the teams is even at 2-2.
Both teams struggled on offense early, with Northwestern holding a 10-8 lead midway through the first half. Utah made 13 first-half turnovers and finished with a season-high 21.
Northwestern put together a 14-2 run midway through the first half to lead 19-10 and held a 28-24 advantage at halftime.
Senior guard Ryan Taylor scored 14 points for the Wildcats, despite going 1 of 8 from 3-point range, while sophomore guard Anthony Gaines added 11 points. Northwestern was 10 of 21 as a team from 3-point range.
Pardon was 5 of 5 from the field for Northwestern on Sunday after going 4 for 4 from the field and scoring 12 points during a victory Friday over La Salle.
Northwestern held its fourth opponent under 60 points this season, but its first at the Wooden Legacy tournament. Fresno State scored 78 points against the Wildcats on Thursday, while La Salle had 74 on Friday as both teams used pressure defenses to increase tempo.
Barefield was the only Utah player to score in double digits. He was coming off a season-high 26-point performance against Grand Canyon on Friday after scoring just four points in consecutive games prior to Friday.
--Field Level Media