Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Delaware State
Northwestern Outlasts Delaware State in Overtime, 61-54
12/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2005
Box Score
Box Score (PDF Format)
Download Free Acrobat Reader
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Vedran Vukusic scored 19 points and Mohamed Hachad added 17 points off the bench to lead Northwestern to a 61-54 overtime victory against Delaware State on Saturday night. The win moves Northwestern to 4-3 while the Hornets slip to 1-5.
Mohamed Hachad had his best game of the season for the 'Cats, scoring 11 straight over an eight-minute span, including a layup to start overtime. He then got a steal which led to a Vukusic layup to give Northwestern a 53-49 lead with 3:26 to go.
Hachad would add a pair of free throws, and Tim Doyle scored six straight points to ice the victory. Hachad scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and led the team with seven rebounds. Doyle added 13 points.
Jahsha Bluntt led the Hornets with 18 points and hit a jumper with 52 seconds left to make it 57-54. Doyle then threw a pass away but redeemed himself with a steal, layup and free throw with 20 seconds to go.
Up by two early in the first, the Wildcats ran off a 7-0 run, highlighted by a Bernard Coté three-pointer to extend Nothwestern out to its largest lead of the game at 19-10 with 7:37 left in the half. But the scrappy Hornets responded with a 10-4 run to end the half and the Wildcats went into halftime with a 23-20 lead.
The Wildcats shot 52.3 percent but hit just 5-of-16 3-pointers and had 14 turnovers.
Freshman Craig Moore, who got his second-straight starting nod, recorded six assists and three points and has just two turnovers in his last three games.
The Hornets outrebounded Northwestern 28-27, 11-8 on the offensive end, and hit eight 3-pointers. They turned those 11 offensive rebounds into 13 points.
Northwestern will have off for final exams before returning to the court Wednesday, Dec. 14 against Illinois-Chicago (UIC). Game time is 7 p.m.
Postgame Quotes
Northwestern Head Coach Bill Carmody
Opening Statement...
"We played essentially this same team last year. They went to the NCAA's and returned all but one guy. They are a good team and have a good coach. They hang on to the ball for 15-20 seconds and then start their offense, which I am familiar with from my time at Princeton. We knew it would be like this and we tried to prepare the guys for it, but it is difficult to do."
On the turning point of the game...
"I really felt like the turning point of the game was at 19-10 in the first half. We had a couple of turnovers then, but if we could have gotten up 12 or 13 I think we could have made things very difficult for them. They got the rebounds and big shots necessary to stay in the game."
On some offensive changes made throughout the game...
"We had 14 turnovers, and a part of that was that they were constantly changing defenses on us. We were trying to find an offense that would work well against all of these defenses. They were all over Vedran tonight, so we took Vince out and put Vedran at center so that he could post up and use his size."
On Mohammed Hachad's play...
"We expect this every game from him. We scrimmaged yesterday and he played on the second team and had 31 of his team's 37 points in 25 minutes. We need 12-17 points from him every night if we are going to win. We would not have won the game tonight without him."
On Tim Doyle's steal in overtime...
"That play was huge. They were only down three and I felt like they were going to score, just like they had done every other time. Tim's style really made the difference in overtime."
On Craig Moore's play...
"Craig is out there to shoot three's because I think he is a really good shooter. But what he has turned into now is a great passer. He does not turn the ball over. He has had only two turnovers in the past three games. He is really our facilitator out there right now."
Delaware State Head Coach Greg Jackson
Opening Statement...
"It was a tremendous basketball game. Both teams played extremely well. We knew coming in we were overmatched talent-wise. We needed to control the tempo and I thought we did a good job of that, especially in the second half.
On a challenging non-conference schedule...
"To play a team of Northwestern's caliber is a great test for the guys. It was a tremendous effort coming into this place with all its Big Ten tradition."
On lack of inside game...
"We don't have the size to match-up and you're certainly not going inside at this level. We knew we had to live by the jumper and die by the jumper, but you aren't going to win many games shooting only jumpers on the road."
