Northwestern Basketball Finds Its Spark in Win Over Binghamton

Northwestern men’s basketball tipped off its 121st season with a surge of confidence and a newfound shooting stroke, triumphing over Binghamton 86-60 Monday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

The NU team that seemed incongruous in two preseason contests got off to a blistering start on offense, shooting 72 percent from the field in the first half and 56 percent overall. The Wildcats hit 12 three-pointers on 30 attempts.

The ‘Cats showed marked improvement in the pick-and-roll game and ball control, banking 32 points in the paint, 37 percent of their total scoring. Northwestern only turned the ball over eight times compared to 23 assists. Binghamton did not tally any points off NU giveaways.

Co-captains Jake West and Angelo Ciaravino led the charge as two of four Wildcats in double figures. West scored a career-high 20 points on 6 of 9 shooting, and 12 assists.

It was the first 20 and 10 game for a Wildcat since Bryant McIntosh vs. Iowa in January 2017.

Ciaravino logged his first career double-double with 13 points, 10 of which came in the first period, and 10 boards.

Bellarmine graduate transfer Jack Karasinski hit a career-best seven three-pointers on 11 attempts en route to 24 points in his Wildcat debut.

NU's best surge was an 11-0 run over two minutes and 23 seconds of game clock late in the first half. After the Bearcats had trimmed the Wildcat lead to as many as six points, Northwestern extended their lead to 19 on five consecutive made shots from West, Ciaravino, and Karasinski.

Northeastern grad transfer LA Pratt finished with 19 points on 6 of 12 shooting and 3 of 5 from downtown.

NU improved to 13-1 in season-openers under head coach Chris Collins.

Collins and his staff took on a program-record 11 newcomers, including eight transfers. NU was facing a Bearcats team that returned two starters and was picked to finish third in the America East Conference. One of those starters, Demetrius Lilley, led the Bearcats with 11 points. The other, Jeremiah Quigley, fouled out in the second half.

Over the past four-plus seasons, Northwestern had posted a 36-9 (.800) record in regular season non-conference play. During this stretch, Northwestern is 27-2 in home non-conference games.

NU was without Mount St. Mary’s transfer Luke McEldon, after the program announced their presumed starting center was taking an indefinite leave of absence. The 6-foot-10 McEldon scored a two-point bucket on his only shot attempt in 26 ½ minutes played over the ‘Cats two preseason games. He had four total defensive boards.

Suddenly operating on paper-thin big-man depth, Collins opted to slot in 6-foot-9 Drake transfer Okku Federiko. That decision paid immediate dividends, with Federiko slamming home a wide-open dunk after setting a screen and finding himself in front of the rim unguarded, to put the ‘Cats up four points 90 seconds into regulation. Federiko finished with four points and two boards in 23 minutes.           

However, inexperience showed with the center rotation spurring early NU foul trouble. Federiko had two first-half fouls, and subs Ryan Soulis and Symon Ghai committed two and one of the ‘Cats 11 first-half fouls, respectively. Neither Soulis nor Ghai scored in a combined 13 minutes on the floor.

The Wildcats continue their season-opening, five-game homestand Friday against Stony Brook University of the Coastal Athletic Association. Tip-off between the ‘Cats and the Seawolves is set for 7 p.m. on B1G+ and a streaming radio call on WGN 720.