Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Buffalo
Northwestern Knocks Off Buffalo, 69-62
12/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 30, 2002
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EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Aaron Jennings scored a career-high 19 points and freshman T.J. Parker added 15 -- his ninth straight game in double figures -- as Northwestern defeated Buffalo 69-62 in men's basketball action at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Monday night.
Northwestern started the game by hitting its first six field goals. Jennings, who scored 15 first-half points, hit a jumper to give Northwestern a 24-8 lead with 11:30 remaining in the first half. Parker extended Northwestern's lead in the first half to 34-14 with a lay-up.
Northwestern (7-3) shot a staggering 86.4 percent from the floor in the first half, going 19-of-22 by converting on many easy lay-ups. As a result, the 'Cats led 46-28 at the break, setting a new standard for first-half points in the Bill Carmody era. The shooting exhibition is certainly a modern NU record for a half, but it fell short of the NCAA mark of 94.1 set by North Carolina against Virginia on Jan. 7, 1978.
"I have been coaching a long time; 19-for-22 you don't see happen much," Carmody said after the contest.
Buffalo (3-6) switched from a man-to-man defense to zone in the second half, which sparked a 14-2 Bulls run. Mark Bortz capped it with a put-back to make it 62-54 with 6:55 left.
Calvin Cage, who was 4-of-6 from 3-point range in the first half, ended with 24 points for Buffalo and Daniel Gilbert added 10.
Winston Blake and Jitim Young both had 11 for the Wildcats, who won despite making just 2-of-13 3-pointers in the game.
Northwestern closes out the nonconference portion of the 2002-03 schedule by meeting Long Island University Saturday night at Welsh-Ryan. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
