Brandon Noel scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half, when Ohio State rallied and then held on for an 86-82 win Saturday over Northwestern in a Big Ten Conference game in Evanston, Ill.

Bruce Thornton, who had four points in the first half, finished with 17 for the Buckeyes (7-1, 1-0).

Noel increased a 73-70 lead to 78-70 with five consecutive points on a traditional 3-point play followed by a dunk with 2:50 remaining. He was 13 of 15 from the floor as the Buckeyes pounded the ball inside, scoring 62 points in the paint to 38 for Northwestern (5-4, 0-2).

Noel’s career high in points is 32, while playing for Wright State on Jan. 12, 2023, vs. Green Bay.

Nick Martinelli scored 32 points for the Wildcats on Saturday.

Ohio State led 81-73 with 2:10 left, but a pair of foul shots by Martinelli cut it to 82-81 with 28 seconds to go before Thornton made two shots from the line, Martinelli missed a free throw with 20 seconds left, and Christoph Tilly made two foul shots at the other end for an 86-81 lead.

Northwestern’s biggest lead was 57-48 with about 15 minutes to play, but Noel faked a shot and drove for a 62-61 lead and later made a pair of foul shots and a basket for a 68-64 advantage.

Martinelli, coming off a subpar 14 points in an 85-73 loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday, had 18 points in the first half on Saturday. He hit 6 of 10 from the floor and made a crucial free throw on his only attempt of the first half.

The Buckeyes were looking to expand their biggest lead, 38-32, with under four minutes to play when Martinelli went inside and challenged Tilly, the 7-foot center. Martinelli was bodied when he took a shot that missed but grabbed the rebound for a second-chance bucket and was fouled by Tilly.

With the free throw, his 3-point play ignited a 12-2 run for the 44-40 halftime score. Jordan Clayton’s 3-pointer at the 1:19 mark gave the Wildcats their first lead in 10 minutes, 41-40, before K.J. Windham nailed a triple with 23 seconds left.

–Field Level Media