Northwestern nearly frittered away a 16-point second-half lead, but held on for a 79-72 victory over Fairfield on Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Sophomore point guard Bryant McIntosh led a balanced attack for Northwestern (2-0) with 20 points, five assists, five rebounds and four steals. Senior shooting guard Tre Demps posted 14 points despite a 4-of-16 effort from the field and freshman forward Aaron Falzon added 13 points.

Fairfield (0-3) received 18 points and 11 rebounds from senior forward Marcus Gilbert, a preseason all-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference pick. Freshman guard Curtis Cobb contributed 13 points off the bench and freshman Jonathan Kasibabu added 12.

After playing top-ranked North Carolina on Sunday and clinging within 11 points with nine minutes to play, Fairfield wasn't fazed when Northwestern grabbed a 27-14 lead on McIntosh's 3-pointer with 8:41 left in the first half.

The Wildcats maintained a 10-point lead at the break and boosted it to 57-41 on sophomore swingman Scottie Lindsey's 3-pointer with 13:02 to go, but the Stags chipped away and got within 3 points on four occasions.

Tyler Nelson's layup chopped NU's margin to 68-65 with 3:28 left, then Nelson missed a 3-pointer that would have forged the game's first time since 3-3. McIntosh answered with a jumper and a 3-point play to guide the Wildcats to safety.