Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
DePaul
Northwestern Edges DePaul, 56-52
12/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2004
Coach Carmody/Thompson Postgame Quotes in PDF Format
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Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Vedran Vukusic scored 17 points and Mike Thompson added 12 in his Wildcat debut to lead Northwestern to a 56-52 victory over DePaul Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
"First off, it is good to get a win," said NU head coach Bill Carmody. "It did not look good for a while there. They were really nailing us on the offensive boards. Their guards are good and a little bigger and were just kind of jumping over us. It was the first game where I think we did not take too many threes. We've been something like 25 percent from there, but tonight we got it down low for some layups which was nice."
After Quemont Greer put DePaul up 47-40 with 8:35 left in the game, Northwestern (3-4) outscored DePaul 11-0, to take a 51-47 lead. DePaul didn't get their next basket until LeVar Seals hit a 3-pointer to cut the Northwestern lead to 51-50 with 19.9 seconds left.
DePaul (5-3) then put Vukusic at the free throw line, who calmly hit two free throws to make it 53-50.
Drake Deiner had a chance to tie the game at 53, but missed a 3-point attempt with nine seconds left in the game.
It was Thompson's first game of the season for Northwestern because he missed the first six games due to NCAA transfer rules. Thompson is a 6-10, junior transfer from Duke.
"It has been about a year, and it feels good to get back out there," he said afterward. "I was a little anxious at first, but I felt good. The crowd was great, they were really getting behind us, and all the guys came ready to play."
"He gives you another option," said Carmody. "It is great to have someone to be able to throw the ball down into, and we can get some baskets we normally would not get. He gets the ball deep in the paint like that and he is a real presence for a defense. We get the ball down there and we can score. For his first game, I thought he played well. He helped us win the game, which is what you want."
Greer led DePaul with 20 points and had nine rebounds and Sammy Mejia added 17 points.
