Northwestern edges IUPUI on Cobb jumper
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's JerShon Cobb made a running jumper in the lane with 2.3 seconds left and the Wildcats edged IUPUI 63-61 at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Friday night.
"We knew they were either going to go to the man-to-man or they've been playing a little bit of 1-3-1," Collins said. "No matter what, we wanted to go with a shot inside of four seconds. JerShon, it wasn't one of his better games.
"This was a team win. We beat a team that was determined."
IUPUI's Mitch Patton tied the game at 61 with two free throws with 20.7 seconds remaining.
Cobb was 4 for 13 from the field with eight points for the Wildcats, who won back-to-back games for the first time in the Chris Collins era.
Donovan Gibbs made one of two free throws for IUPUI (1-3) to stay within two points, 61-59, with just over one minute in the game. Dave Sobolewski missed an open look from 3-point range to give the ball back to the Jaguars with 35 seconds on the clock.
Sobolewski gave Northwestern its largest lead of the game -- 59-55 -- when he was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 2:19 on the clock. Ian Chiles matched with a trey of his own, but Northwestern's Drew Crawford kept the Wildcats' lead at three with a tip-in dunk of Cobb's missed jumper.
Drew Crawford led a balanced attack with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Northwestern shot just 41.4 percent from the field.
Chiles led the Jaguars with 19 points and seven rebounds. Patton had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists for IUPUI.
After trailing for most of the game, Northwestern finally took a lead at 52-51, but gave it right back on a pair of free throws by Patton, who carved his way through the Northwestern 2-3 zone with ease.
Drew Crawford failed to convert a three-point play, but Northwestern was able to cut the lead to one point, when Alex Olah rebounded the missed free throw and kicked the ball out to Tre Demps for a 3-pointer with 8:39 remaining in the game. The Wildcats kept the Jaguars close much of the second half.
"Alex gave us some big buckets in the second half," Collins said.
IUPUI had nine blocks in the game. The Jaguars averaged 4.5 per game in their first three games this season.
IUPUI led 31-28 at halftime and the lead changed hands five times. Neither team scored the final 2:54 of the first half.
"I'm not making excuses," Collins said. "But my guys are tired. We've got to get these guys rest and ready to go on Monday."
NOTES: Northwestern plays Gardner-Webb before playing Missouri on Thanksgiving Night as part of the Continental Tire Invitational. The Wildcats also play UCLA as part of the tournament. ... Northwestern attempted 16 3-point field goals. Collins said "We're a jump-shooting team. We have to take them. ... I'm ok with shooting 16 to 20 3s if they're good threes." ... The Wildcats made 11 3-point field goals against UIC.
