by EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Bryant McIntosh scored 28 points to lead Northwestern to a rare win over Wisconsin, 70-65, on Tuesday night.
McIntosh scored all but eight of his points in the second half as the Wildcats (15-3, 3-2 Big Ten) beat the Badgers (9-9, 1-4) for just the third time in 17 games.
Northwestern went on run midway through the second half to grab a seven-point lead and hung on for its second straight win after back-to-back losses to Maryland and Ohio State.
McIntosh, the lone Wildcat to score in double figures, did a little bit of everything with four rebounds and five assists.
The Wildcats outrebounded Wisconsin 34-25 and came away with the win even though they struggled on the perimeter, hitting 4 of 12 3-pointers.
That didn’t stop them from handing the Badgers their third straight loss.
Nigel Hayes had 17 points, six rebounds and six assists. Ethan Happ scored 12, but Wisconsin again came up short after losing by three to Maryland on a last-second 3-pointer by Melo Trimble on Saturday.
Northwestern, which recorded its most lopsided Big Ten road win since 1944 at Minnesota on Saturday, went on a 12-3 run midway through the second half to wipe out a 47-45 deficit.
The Wildcats scored seven straight, Joey van Zegeren’s alley-oop dunk off a feed from McIntosh igniting the crowd.
McIntosh then scored on a layup and answered a 3 by Bronson Koenig (Ho-Chunk Nation) with one of his own. Two free throws by Aaron Falzon finished the run, making it 57-50 with 4:45 remaining.
