Arrinten Page posted a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds in his program debut, and Nick Martinelli scored 17 points to lift host Northwestern to a season-opening 70-47 victory against Mercyhurst on Monday night in Evanston, Ill.
K.J. Windham added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats, who finished plus-17 on the glass. Jake Lemelman paced the Lakers with 14 points.
Northwestern shot 36.5% from the field, compared with 30% for Mercyhurst, but found its touch in spurts to pull away from the Lakers, who are in their second season in NCAA Division I.
While the Wildcats connected on just 26.3% of their 3-point attempts, Windham drilled two treys in a 37-second span as part of a 10-0 run early in the second half.
Windham blocked a 3-pointer from the Lakers’ Kaden Fuhrmann between his makes. Mercyhurst shot only 5.6% (1-for-18) from long range and forced the Wildcats into 12 turnovers while committing 11.
Bernie Blunt scored eight points for the Lakers, and Mykolas Ivanauskas had eight rebounds.
Page, a Cincinnati transfer, recorded career highs in points and rebounds for his first collegiate double-double. He went 10-for-12 from the free-throw line.
Martinelli was the lone player in double figures in the first half, scoring 15 points to spark the Wildcats to a 36-25 lead at the break. His effort included 3-for-5 shooting from the field and an 8-for-8 showing from the free-throw line.
Northwestern closed the half on a 9-2 run, with Windham (five points) and Martinelli (four) sharing the hot hand. Martinelli closed the run with a jumper in the paint just ahead of the buzzer as the Wildcats overcame seven first-half turnovers to take a double-digit advantage into the locker room.
Lemelman led the Lakers with eight points in the first 20 minutes, in which the visitors went just 1-for-9 from long range.
