Sophomore point guard Bryant McIntosh posted a career-high 33 points and added eight assists as Northwestern rallied from a 14-point deficit to claim a 74-59 victory over Loyola (Md.) on Sunday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

The Wildcats (12-1) tied the fastest start in school history, matching the record set by the 1930-31 squad that went on to claim the school's last outright Big Ten title. Northwestern won despite being without injured senior center Alex Olah.

Sophomore guard Andre Walker had 15 points and seven assists and senior forward Franz Rassman added 11 points for the Greyhounds (1-10). Loyola jumped out to a 27-13 lead with 3:26 left in the first half on senior guard Tyler Hubbard's 3-pointer.

McIntosh's floater with 11:47 to play gave Northwestern its first lead of the game at 44-42. It was part of 19 points he scored during the final 11:47 and he drilled seven shots in a row to help the Wildcats pull away.

Northwestern played its first game of the season without Olah, the team's No. 3 scorer (12.8) and top rebounder (6.5), and he was dressed in street clothes with a boot on his left foot to protect a stress fracture. He is expected to miss at least two weeks, which means he won't be available for Northwestern's Big Ten opener Wednesday at Nebraska.

To fill the 7-footer's shoes, Northwestern coach Chris Collins dropped the plan to redshirt 6-8 freshman center Dererk Pardon. The Wildcats also regained the services of senior center Joey Van Zegeren, who missed the previous four games with his own foot issues.

Van Zegeren contributed six points, five rebounds and three blocks as the starter while Pardon posted six points and four rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.