Northwestern holds off Iowa 73-70

EVANSTON — Michael Thompson scored 16 points and had 10 assists to lead Northwestern to a 73-70 win over Iowa on Thursday night.

After freshman Melsahn Basabe had a putback to get Iowa within 69-66, Luka Mirkovic answered for Northwestern (15-10, 5-9 Big Ten) with a 3-pointer to give them a 72-66 lead with 1:46 left.

But the Wildcats had to hold on in the final minute. Bryce Cartwright hit a jumper and Jarryd Cole had a tip-in to get the Hawkeyes within 72-70 with 5.2 seconds left. Iowa quickly fouled Thompson, who missed the first of two free throws and made the second. Iowa's Zach McCabe threw a full-court pass to Cole, who turned the ball over when he tried to kick it out for a 3.

Cole scored 17 points and Basabe added 13 for Iowa (10-16, 3-11).

John Shurna and Drew Crawford each scored 15 points for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats took an early 22-9 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers from Shurna and Alex Marcotullio, but Iowa used an 11-3 run to close in. Basabe had a dunk and McCabe had a basket to get the Hawkeyes within 25-20.

Cole had a three-point play to give the Hawkeyes a 37-35 lead. But Crawford's layup and Thompson's runner with 3 seconds left in the half gave the Wildcats a 39-37 lead. McCabe led Iowa in the first half with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and Thompson and Crawford each had seven points for Northwestern.