Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Florida State
Wildcats Fall To Florida State, 71-53
12/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 1, 2003
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Heading into the 2003-04 season, Northwestern men's basketball coach Bill Carmody knew depth was going to be a factor in a lot of the Wildcats' games this season.
After just five contests, he can already point to two and label depth a key to the contest.
Monday night, in the first game of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, NU put together a strong first half, and after one possession in the second stanza the Wildcats led by the eight. However, it was all Florida State after that, as the Seminoles roared away with a 71-53 victory at the Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center.
Anthony Richardson scored 25 of a career-high 27 points in the second half to lead the 'Noles, who outscored the 'Cats 45-22 in the second half.
For Northwestern fans, Monday's contest had to feel similar to the season opener against Colorado, when a strong first half by the 'Cats went for naught in an 11-point loss. This time, on the road, the Seminoles got rolling and never looked back led by Richardson. The junior went 10-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-5 beyond the arc. Teammate Tim Pickett had 21 points and nailed five treys on the night.
"It did not seem like Richardson was that involved in the first half, but then everything he shot in the second half went in," said Carmody.
For Northwestern, senior Jitim Young scored 17 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. T.J. Parker and Evan Seacat contributed 12 points apiece; for Seacat, it marked just the second time in his college career he reached double figures in the scoring column.
Northwestern (2-3) shot lights out in the first half, getting plenty of open looks and draining them. After falling behind 11-4 to start the game, the 'Cats went on a 13-2 run thanks to three-pointers from Davor Duvancic, Parker and Seacat, and backdoor layups by Parker and Young. The lead went to as many as six (26-20) on another Seacat trey, and when Parker hit a jumper the 'Cats went into the locker room up 31-26.
"I thought we played a decent first half," said Carmody. "It was sloppy for both teams in the first half, and we had a little bit of a lead. In the second half we were not able to contain them."
Things continued to go well for NU in the first minute of the second half. Mohamed Hachad got a layin on a feed from Vedran Vukusic, and then Young hit a free throw -- the first of the game for either team -- on the Wildcats' next possession to make the score 34-26.
Richardson came down and hit a three-pointer; that seemed to wake Florida State (5-0).
The Seminoles erased NU's lead with 14 minutes to play, and actually took its first lead since the first half at 46-43 when Pickett knocked down a trifecta. That lead quickly bulged to seven on layups by Adam Waleskowski and Todd Galloway.
NU had some fight left, however. Young earned a conventional three-point play, and after a defensive stop by the 'Cats he made good on two more free throws that made the score 50-48, FSU.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats went cold from the field after that. Not helping matters was the foulout of Vukusic with 8:19 to play and the score already 56-49. Suddenly limited in size, NU struggled to match up with the 'Noles, who exploited the mismatches to run away with the win.
There is no rest for the weary, as Northwestern hosts Bucknell Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
