Wildcats Notch Second Straight Win

Monday, December 3

Evanston, Ill.

7:00 PM

Northwestern

Arkansas State

Craig Moore hit six 3-pointers in Monday night's win.

12/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Dec. 3, 2007

Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern used a whopping 34-4 run that spanned both halves and turned an 11-point deficit into a 19-point lead as downed Arkansas State 88-68 Monday evening at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Craig Moore had 20 points and five assists to lead five Northwestern (3-4) players in double-figure scoring. Jason Okrzesik scored 16 points, Michael Thompson had 15 points and eight assists, Sterling Williams added 14 points and Nikola Baran had 12 for the Wildcats, who hit a school record 15 3-pointers in 24 attempts.

Ryan Wedel scored a career-high 23 for Arkansas State (2-5). Yima Chia-Kur had a career-high 16 points and Shawn Morgan added 10 points.

The Indians played without leading scorer Adrian Banks, who averages 21.7 points. Banks was suspended indefinitely after being arrested early Sunday for allegedly firing a gun within Jonesboro, Ark., city limits.

Northwestern opened the second half with 15 straight points as part of a 21-2 surge to take a 55-36 lead on a three-point play by Okrzesik with 13:35 remaining.

Arkansas State opened the game on a 11-1 run, with Wedel knocking down three 3-pointers in the first 3:24 of the game. Northwestern closed the first half on a 13-2 streak of its own, including Moore's 3-pointer that tied the game at 34-34.

NU's 15 made 3-pointers bested the previous school record of 14 set at Michigan Jan. 19, 2000 and again at home against Evansville Dec. 22, 2000. Moore led the way with six 3-point makes in eight attempts.

The Wildcats return to action at 1 p.m. Central time Saturday when they travel to Western Michigan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report