Northwestern’s season ends in overtime

The deepest postseason run in Northwestern history turned into the most depressing end to a season in Northwestern history.

Bailed out by 2 missed Washington State free throws with two-tenths of a second left in regulation, the Wildcats received an unexpected chance to push their NIT run all the way to Madison Square Garden.

But with the same five players on the floor for the final 20-plus minutes, Northwestern managed just 2 points in the extra session and dropped a 69-66 decision Wednesday night at Beasley Coliseum.

NU sophomore Alex Marcotullio missed a pair of game-tying 3-pointers in the final five seconds of overtime — symbolic of the team’s 10 of 39 effort from beyond the arc.

As Marcotullio’s latter attempt ricocheted off the rim at the buzzer, several drained Wildcats dropped to the floor.

Senior point guard Juice Thompson wrapped up his record-setting career with a game-high 18 points to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Northwestern (20-14) finished with the same record as last season, but earned 2 postseason victories for the first time in school annals.

The Wildcats erased a 14-point first-half deficit and earned several small leads in the second half, but never led over the final 10:57 of the game.

NU looked like it might benefit from Washington State’s missed opportunity at the end of regulation.

John Shurna’s goaltended layup with 4.2 seconds left pulled Northwestern into a tie, but Washington State’s Reggie Moore drove the length of the floor and fed Abe Lodwick near the basket.

NU’s Drew Crawford pushed Lodwick a split-second before the final buzzer went off, which allowed Lodwick to go to the line.

Lodwick, a 6-foot-7 swingman who had made 9 of 13 free throws all season, missed 2 free throws with two-tenths of a second left in regulation to send it into overtime.

Washington State (22-12) faces Wichita State (27-8) in the first NIT semifinal Tuesday night in New York City.