Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Westrn Carolina
Men's Basketball Rolls Over Western Carolina, 78-54
12/18/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern upped its record to 4-5 with a 78-54 victory over Western Carolina (6-3). The win was the Wildcats' third in a row as they scored their highest point total of the season, while WCU saw a six-game winning streak come to an end.
NU was hot from the floor throughout the game, hitting 55 percent overall, and played great defense at the other end. Led by a career-high 25 points (five three-pointers) from sophomore Steve Lepore, the Wildcats shot 75% in the first eight minutes to open up a 20-point lead that would never fall below double digits the remainder of the game.
The Wildcats had three other players score in double figures. Sophomore David Newman had a season-high 14 points, hitting four three-pointers, while sophomore Tavaras Hardy and freshman Ben Johnson chipped in 13 points each.
At the other end, sophomore Collier Drayton played terrific defense holding Western Carolina?s leading scorer Jarvis Hayes scoreless. Hayes came into the game averaging 18.1 ppg. Drayton was the ?Cats leading rebounder with eight boards and he also dished out six assists.
Northwestern plays next on December 29 at the University of Southern California. Tip-off is 9:30 CT and will be shown locally on Fox Sports Net.
