INDIANAPOLIS — Nolan Winter and John Tonje each scored 18 points to lead No. 18 Wisconsin to a 70-63 victory over Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.

Winter hit 4 of 5 shots and 9 of 10 free throws.

Nick Martinelli led the No. 13 seed Wildcats (17-16) with 22 points. Jordan Clayton added 10 points for Northwestern.

Leading by eight points, Wisconsin’s Max Klesmit hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to 53-42. Kamari McGee followed that with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 56-42 with 8:58 remaining. Two more 3-pointers by Tonje gave the Badgers a 62-46 edge.

Wisconsin held a 37-30 lead at halftime. Both teams shot 39% in the first half. The difference was the Badgers made 12 of 15 free throws compared to 6 of 7 for the Wildcats.

Trailing by as many as 18 points in the second half, the Wildcats kept fighting down the stretch to narrow the final deficit. The Wildcats closed the game with a 12-2 run.

Leading 50-42, Klesmit’s 3-pointer started a 14-4 run that increased the lead to 64-46.

After going 3 of 12 from 3-point range in the first half, Wisconsin sank 5 of 13 3-pointers in the second half, including four in a row in a key stretch.

Northwestern will await a possible NIT or College Basketball Crown bid.