Northwestern University Athletics
Men's Basketball Downs Western Carolina, 78-54
12/18/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Steve Lepore scored 19 of his career-high 25 points in the first half to lead Northwestern to a 78-54 win over Western Carolina on Saturday.
David Newman added 14 points and seven assists for the Wildcats (4-5), who have won three straight games for the first time since last January.
Jonas Hayes scored 20 points and Ricky Gandy added 17 for Western Carolina (6-3), which had a six-game win streak snapped. Jarvis Hayes, the Catamounts' leading scorer coming into the game averaging 18 points per game, was held scoreless.
Northwestern led 41-30 at halftime and hit six of its first nine shots in the second half to open a 54-32 lead. The Catamounts outscored Northwestern 15-4 over a five-minute span to draw to within 11 at 58-47 with 11:32 remaining.
But Newman sank a pair of free throws and two 3-pointers over the next six minutes to help Northwestern restore a comfortable lead.
Ben Johnson and Tavaras Hardy added 13 points apiece for Northwestern, which shot 55 percent (30-of-55) for the game.
The Wildcats hit 11 of their first 15 shots and built a 29-9 lead in the opening 8:15 of the game.
The Catamounts twice trimmed the lead to 11 points in the final seven minutes of the half, the second time on Jonas Hayes' layup with four seconds left.
Northwestern shot 17-of-28 (61 percent) in the first half and scored 41 first-half points, a season-high.
