Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Elon
Wildcats Down Elon, 66-51
12/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2002
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EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Senior center Aaron Jennings had 17 points -- one shy of a career high -- and classmate Winston Blake matched a season high with 13 as Northwestern defeated Elon 66-51 on Wednesday.
The win was a sigh of relief to the Wildcats, who were coming off an 11-day layoff due to exams. The last two years, they had played poorly and taken losses in their first outing coming out of exams.
"I was happy to have exams," said head coach Bill Carmody after the game. "This week we have had five good practices. We could keep them more than an hour and a half because we had more than 10 bodies. I think we got some things done this week."
Northwestern (5-2) was up just five at the half (29-24), but went on a 14-5 run to start the second half, beginning with a Jitim Young free throw. Jennings scored six points in the span, capping it with a free throw.
Young hit a pair of free throws to give Northwestern a 59-38 lead with four minutes to play, the Wildcats' largest of the game. Young finished with eight points.
Elon (4-2) got within five points at halftime when Steven Harvin hit a jumper for the last of his nine first-half points just before the break 29-24. Harvin went scoreless in the second half and shared Phoenix scoring honors with Gary Marsh and Sean Newton.
Northwestern forced Elon into 22 turnovers, collecting 13 steals as a team including four apiece from Blake and Jason Burke and three from Young. On the flip side, the Wildcats took good care of the ball, dishing out 19 assists on their 22 buckets and committing just nine turnovers (several of them late during garbage time).
"We are a team that takes pride in taking care of the basketball, and tonight we turned the ball over 22 times," said Elon coach Mark Simons. "That was the difference in the game.
"I realize Northwestern had a long layoff, but it didn't look like it to me," he said. "They looked pretty crisp." T.J. Parker had 10 points for the Wildcats.
Northwestern must turn right around for Thursday night, when they meet Illinois-Chicago in a highly anticipated matchup between two of Chicago's Division I programs. Tip time at Welsh-Ryan is 7 p.m., and it represents the first meeting between these schools in 17 years.
"I am excited about tomorrow night's game," said Carmody. "Illinois-Chicago is a good team -- they gave a good account of themselves last year at the NCAA Tournament, and they are playing well right now. They are a confident team and they should be."
