Aberdeen Roncalli had the better start, but Northwestern supplied the stronger finish Saturday afternoon at the Roncalli Gym.

Northwestern overcame a 10-point first-half deficit and held the Cavaliers scoreless for four minutes down the stretch on the way to a 61-54 non-conference boys’ basketball victory.

“Toughness. Mentally you gotta be tough, physically you gotta be tough,” said Northwestern coach Anthony Redman. “That’s kind of the thing we’ve been talking all year: toughness.”

It was the Wildcats who were tough under fire in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 50-48, Northwestern scored nine unanswered points to take control. Roncalli had numerous chances to score, but could not find the range, whether inside or outside.

“It’s frustrating the amount of looks that went in and out throughout the game. … When we were down three, we had a three rim in and out, a layup rim in and out, three rim in and out,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “It’s the same thing that happened in the first half on one possession. It’s just little things like that. It’s frustrating, but you can’t control that.”

Talon Miller had a big fourth quarter for the Wildcats. It was his 3-pointer that gave Northwestern a lead it never lost.

“I missed the first one after I shot it and my coach told me, you’re going to hit the next one,” Miller said. “So I got the ball, put it up, knocked it down.”

It turned out to be a huge momentum changer in the contest.

“I was really on ‘T’ tonight. I was like, hey man, next play, next mentality,” Redman said. “It was kind of interesting because I said next play and he comes down and knocks the big 3-pointer down. He has that mentality, but again it’s toughness, though.”

Moments later, Miller got behind the Roncalli defense on the press for an and-one to extend the lead to six points.

“I was wide open and I learned from past experiences, just put that up and got the and-one, and knocked down the free throw,” Miller said.

The two teams reacted differently when the Cavaliers opened a double-digit advantage in the opening half.

“I believe in my team,” Miller said. “I think we can come back from any deficit.”

Meanwhile the mood was much different at the half for Roncalli after the Wildcats had whittled the margin down to a single point.

“They went on a run to end the half,” said Roncalli’s Austin Fisher. “We were up one and we were in the locker room and basically acting like we were down 30. All the spirits were just down at that point.”

Gallagher felt the same vibe during the break.

“It’s just one of those things. We’ve got to recognize that we’ve been down 10-0, 8-0 so many times and have come back from those situations,.” Gallagher said. “We were up one. We’ve got to recognize that a game’s 32 minutes for a reason. We can keep playing through it.”

Down the stretch, when the shots weren’t falling for the Cavaliers, that same mentality was present, according to Fisher.

“I think it was the same thing,” Fisher said. “Spirits were down, heads were down, heads weren’t up, we weren’t playing as a team today.”

Redman knew that his team would have its hands full against Roncalli’s potent outside shooting, but the Wildcats were able to keep the Cavaliers off the board when it mattered most.

“They’re a good shooting team. I’ve been watching film on them,” Redman said. “They don’t stop and there’s a reason why they don’t stop, because they know they can knock down 3s. When you play a team that’s not afraid to shoot the ball, you gotta be on them. I thought our guys did a really good job.”

Miller led Northwestern with 18 points. Ty Boekelheide followed with 17, and Carson Ewalt and Will Clemens each added 12.

“This will be big momentum, for me especially, because I was currently in a slump here and there,” Miller said. “So knocking down some shots, I’ll be able to hit some more hopefully.”

Jesse Hernandez and Bryce Olson topped Roncalli with 12 points apiece. Fisher, Quinten Shelton, and Sam Larson each contributed eight.

It was Fisher’s first start since suffering an injury during Christmas break. He said he is getting his legs back.

“I was huffing and puffing down the court the entire time (Thursday against Britton-Hecla),” Fisher said, “but around the end of the first quarter, I zoned in and I thought I was back to my regular self.”

Roncalli plays at Groton on Tuesday, and hosts Milbank on Friday.

“We’ve just got to really identify who we are, what we’re going to be about,” Gallagher said. “That’s going to be our focus, us as a team, us as individuals, and what we can accomplish together as a group.”

NORTHWESTERN (9-3): Carson Ewalt 5 2-4 12, Jarren Haven 0 2-4 2, Talon Miller 6 3-4 18, Will Clemens 5 2-3 12, Ty Boekelheide 6 5-6 17. Totals 22 14-21 61.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (4-7): Jesse Hernandez 2 7-8 12, Austin Fisher 3 2-2 8, Quinten Shelton 3 0-0 8, Creighton Fisher 3 0-1 6, Bryson Olson 5 2-2 12, Sam Larson 3 0-0 8. Totals 19 11-13 54.

Northwestern 10 27 44 61

Aberdeen Roncalli 18 28 44 54

3-point field goals – Miller 3; Hernandez, Shelton 2, Larson 2. Fouled out – Shelton. Total fouls – Northwestern 13; Aberdeen Roncalli 22. Rebounds – Northwestern 49 (Clemens 10, Ewalt 7, Boekelheide 7); Aberdeen Roncalli 39 (Hernandez 7, A. Fisher 7). Turnovers – Northwestern 21; Aberdeen Roncalli 17. Assists – Northwestern 16 (Haven 8); Aberdeen Roncalli 7 (Olson2, Hernandez 2, A. Fisher 2). Blocked shots – Northwestern 5 (Boekelheide 2, Clemens 2); Aberdeen Roncalli 2 (Olson 2). Steals – Northwestern 10 (Ewalt 4); Aberdeen Roncalli 12 (Olson 2, Hernandez 2, Shelton 2, Mason Berndt 2).