McIntosh regains form as Northwestern routs Lewis 85-48

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- On the court and from the bench, Northwestern players appeared to be calling out Lewis' offensive plays at the outset.

It took the Wildcats more than four minutes to hit a shot from the field on Tuesday, but not because they were taking their Division II opponent lightly.

Bryant McIntosh had 24 points and seven assists as Northwestern shook off a slow start to run away with an 85-48 victory over Lewis.

"A team like Lewis, if you're not ready to play, they can really expose you," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. "They're well-coached, they cut hard, they move the ball, and if you're not locked in they can cause some problems, which they did a little bit early.

"Our guys respected this team. We knew if we weren't ready to play they were going to expose us in some areas."

Gavin Skelly scored a season-high 15 points despite taking just five shots and Dererk Pardon added 12 for the Wildcats (9-4), who broke the game open with a 21-3 first-half run.

Northwestern, an NCAA Tournament team for the first time last season, extended its season-high winning streak to four.

Vic Law, the Wildcats' second-leading scorer, did not play after suffering a head injury that Collins confirmed was a concussion in the second half of Northwestern's victory over DePaul on Saturday.

Cristen Wilson's 12 points led Lewis.

McIntosh, who went 2 for 17 from the field against DePaul, regained his shooting touch, going 6 of 11 from 3-point range and 8 of 14 overall.

"I kind of believe in the law of averages," McIntosh said. "I shoot way too much to continue to shoot like that. I was just trying to keep my confidence and keep sticking to my routine, keep believing in myself and keep letting it go."

The 6-foot-8 Skelly, a reserve, had two 3s among his five baskets.

"I think Northwestern's good," Lewis coach Scott Trost said. "They pressured us and took us out of some stuff that we normally don't see at our level. Their defensive pressure bothered us."

BIG PICTURE

Northwestern: Collins said he's hopeful that Law, whose streak of 48 straight starts was snapped on his 22nd birthday, will be able to play against No. 17 Oklahoma on Friday. Collins said the 6-7 junior is "on track" but has not been cleared.

Lewis: The Flyers have some work to do to record their 12th straight winning season. Lewis won at least 19 games each of the past five seasons.

BROKE THE SEAL

Charlie Hall, a junior walk-on and the son of "Seinfeld" and "Veep" star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, scored his first career point on a free throw with 1:08 left.

Hall missed his only field-goal attempt and made 1 of 3 free throws after being fouled while shooting a 3.

UP NEXT

Lewis: Host Robert Morris-Peoria on Dec. 28.

Northwestern: At No. 17 Oklahoma on Friday.