By: Jake Liker

Northwestern surely left West Lafayette with a moral victory Sunday night, but as far as actual victories are concerned, the ‘Cats could only bring home silver in a sea of black and gold at Purdue’s Mackey Arena.

The game just about came down to the final possession, in which Bryant McIntosh missed what would have been a game-tying three-pointer with  fewer than five seconds left in the game. Vince Edwards made two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to seal the victory for the Boilermakers.

If you’re #Northwestern, down 3, this is the look you take 100 times out of 100. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for Bryant McIntosh. pic.twitter.com/3yHwr44jY5

— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) December 3, 2017

A tight finish seemed unlikely early on, when the Boilermakers strung together 12 unanswered points and later led by as much as a dozen midway through the first half. The Wildcats, however, were buoyed by a 12-1 run of their own later in the first half. The teams were never separated by more than 5 points from that point forward.

Isaac Haas led all scorers with 26 points and finished with 9 rebounds to his name. It was the 7’2” center who scored what ultimately proved to be the winning basket, a go-ahead jumper with 43 seconds remaining. The ‘Cats were outscored 7-0 in the final 90 seconds of the game.

Haas’ opposite number, Dererk Pardon, was also a force to reckoned with, scoring 16 of his 20 points in the second frame. VIc Law contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds. Isiah Brown was a revelation for the ‘Cats, providing 9 points off the bench.

The ‘Cats fall to 1-1 in conference play and 5-4 overall. Their next game is on December 11th, when they host Chicago State. Purdue improves to 2-0 in conference play and 8-2 overall. They host Valparaiso––one of just 13 remaining undefeated Division I teams this season––on Thursday.