Matthew Nicholson’s dunk with 36 seconds left gave Northwestern the lead, and the Wildcats held on to beat Montana State 72-69 on Tuesday in Evanston, Ill.

Nicholson gave Northwestern (4-1) a 69-67 advantage before the Bobcats’ Brandon Walker missed a layup attempt at the other end.

The Wildcats’ Jalen Leach hit two free throws with 10 seconds left, and Montana State got within two points on a layup by Jabe Mullins with three seconds to go.

Northwestern’s Justin Mullins sank 1 of 2 free throws with two seconds remaining to cap the scoring.

The game included 15 ties and 13 lead changes, and the Wildcats overcame a 39-34 halftime deficit.

Nick Martinelli carried the Wildcats’ offense, scoring 22 points while adding seven rebounds. He was complemented by the reintroduction of Brooks Barnhizer into the starting lineup, making his season debut after recovering from a foot injury.

Barnhizer put up 20 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high four assists in 28 minutes, shooting 9-for-15 from the field.

Jabe Mullins led Montana State (1-4) with 17 points and six assists. Walker contributed 14 points, and Max Agbonkpolo amassed 13 points and 10 rebounds.

There were nine lead changes after halftime, with Montana State going in front for the final time with 4:09 to go when Jabe Mullins hit two free throws.

Martinelli’s jumper 20 seconds later gave Northwestern a 63-62 lead, and the gap twice grew to three points before Jabe Mullins sank a trey to tie the contest at 67-67 with 47 seconds to go.

Both teams shot roughly 45 percent from the floor — 45.3 percent for Northwestern, 44.6 percent for the Bobcats — and made 10 free throws. The big difference for Northwestern came in second-chance points, as the Wildcats had a 20-10 advantage as part of an overall 39-32 rebounding advantage.

Northwestern logged its third straight win since taking its lone loss at Dayton on Nov. 9.

Montana State has lost two games in a row since its only win over Northwest Indian College on Nov. 11.

–Field Level Media