Nick Martinelli scores 28, but Northwestern rally falls short vs. Oklahoma State at United Center

Jaylen Curry scored 18 points, Anthony Roy scored all of his 16 points in the final eight-plus minutes, and Oklahoma State beat Northwestern 86-81 on Thursday night in the Thanksgiving Classic at the United Center.

Vyctorius Miller added 17 points for Oklahoma State (7-0), and Parsa Fallah had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Christian Coleman scored 10.

The Cowboys are off to their best start since the 2019-20 team also won its first seven games.

Nick Martinelli scored a season-high 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds, his first double-double this season, for Northwestern (5-2). Angelo Ciaravino scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half, and Arrinten Page scored 11.

Ciaravino scored six consecutive Northwestern points before Martinelli converted a three-point play to trim the deficit to a point with 34 seconds left. Kanye Clary, Miller and Isaiah Coleman each made 2 of 2 from the free-throw line from there to seal it.

It was the first matchup between the programs.

Roy made three 3-pointers and Miller added another in a 16-4 run that gave the Cowboys a eight-point lead — their biggest of the game — with 6:05 to play.

Curry on Sunday became the first player in program history with at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game in a 92-81 win over Nicholls.

Up next

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys host Sam Houston on Tuesday.

Northwestern: The Wildcats open their Big Ten schedule Wednesday at Wisconsin.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/28/northwestern-oklahoma-state-united-center/