Northwestern
Michigan
Wildcats Fall To Michigan, 78-54
1/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 7, 2004
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Lester Abram scored a career-high 27 points and was nearly perfect from the field, and his performance was indicative of Wednesday night's game as Michigan defeated Northwestern, 78-54.
Abram was 7-of-8 from the field, missing only his final field goal attempt, and 10-of-10 from the foul line en route to his career night. As a team, Michigan shot a staggering 65.1 percent from the field (28-of-43); it was the best shooting night by a Northwestern opponent in the Bill Carmody era.
By contrast, NU struggled once again to find a rhythm offensively, and as a result the 'Cats shot just 35 percent from the field (17-of-48) and hit just seven of 23 three-point shots.
It was the Wolverines' first win over NU in Ann Arbor since Carmody came on board in 2000 as the Wildcats' head coach. Michigan (10-2, 1-0) has won three in a row over the 'Cats (5-7, 0-1).
The game featured the Big Ten's top two active scorers -- Michigan's Bernard Robinson Jr. and Northwestern's Jitim Young -- and neither one disappointed. Robinson finished with 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, while Young led the Wildcats with 20 points.
Michigan never trailed in the contest, and had a double-digit lead before the game was 10 minutes old at 21-11. Northwestern was able to cut it to 26-20 when Evan Seacat drained a three-point basket -- one of his two on the night -- but the Wolverines went on a 19-6 run the rest of the half to go into the locker room up 45-26. It was the largest halftime deficit NU has faced this season.
Led by Young, and some sharp-shooting by Vedran Vukusic (10 points), Northwestern opened the second half with a 15-8 run and cut the deficit to 53-41 with 12:43 remaining when freshman Vince Scott -- who made his first collegiate start -- knocked down a hook shot off a nice Vukusic pass.
Robinson responded with a pair of field goals, however, and the Wildcats never got closer than 14 after that.
Northwestern continues Big Ten road play Saturday, taking on Iowa at 1:30 p.m. CST.
