Northwestern
UMKC
Northwestern Rolls On with 77-62 Win Over UMKC
12/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2008
Box Score
Photo Gallery
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern pieced together a 13-2 run midway through the first half to distance itself from UMKC and kept a comfortable lead the rest of
the way, winning its fourth straight contest by a 77-62 margin. Junior forward Kevin Coble had the hot hand for NU, scoring 16 second-half points on his way to a team-leading 22 for the night.
An eight-day layoff during finals week had no ill effects on NU's offensive rhythm. Freshman John Shurna notched a career-high 20 points on an efficient 7-of-12 shooting in the win. Shurna and Coble both collected eight rebounds to lead the 'Cats.
With 10 minutes to go in the game and NU leading by 15, Coble took over on the offensive end. He poured in six consecutive baskets for Northwestern (7-1), including three straight 3-pointers, over a seven-minute span to help keep the Kangaroos at bay.
UMKC forward Spencer Johnson also had a big second half while trying to lead a comeback and finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Northwestern's first-half spurt began with back-to-back baskets by sophomore point guard Michael Thompson. He followed up a 3-pointer with a driving lay-up to extend NU's lead to 14-8. On the ensuing possession, Coble stole a pass in the backcourt and converted the fast-break lay-up. After another Wildcats stop on defense, Coble
caught a backdoor pass from junior Jeff Ryan and finished emphatically with a one-handed slam to put the Wildcats up by 10.
With six more assists against UMKC (4-8), Thompson upped his season total to 32 helpers compared to just 10 turnovers through eight games.
Coming out of the intermission with a nine-point advantage, Northwestern withstood an energized UMKC team early in the second half. Johnson scored three baskets in a span of 2:30 to trim NU's lead to six at 37-31.
But another 3-pointer by Thompson on the heels of a lay-up and free throw by Shurna resulted in a 12-point lead for the Wildcats with 16:40 to play.
Northwestern was active once again on the defensive end, blocking a season-best 10 shots compared to none for the 'Roos. The 10 blocks were also the most ever by a Northwestern team under ninth-year head coach Bill Carmody. Coble and sophomore forward Ivan Peljusic led NU with three blocks apiece.
This weekend, NU heads west for a Saturday night contest at Stanford with tip-time slated for 9 p.m. CT.
Game Notes
John Shurna's 20 points tonight are a career high, topping the 17 he scored against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Nov. 19 ... Northwestern's 10 blocked shots in the contest are a program best in the nine-year Bill Carmody era. The previous record was nine set against vs. Iowa Jan. 19, 2002 and again vs. New Hampshire Nov. 25, 2002 ... The Wildcats' 7-1 record this season matches it best start in the Carmody era, equaling the same start by the 2001-02 squad ... NU won its 12th straight game in the month of December and has won 16 of its last 17 games in the month dating back to the 2005-06 season ... UMKC became just the second team to score at least 60 points against the Wildcats this season. Brown's 64 points Nov. 22 are the most by an Northwestern foe in 2008-09 ... Coble (22) and Shurna (20) became the first Wildcat duo to record at least 20 points in the same game since Tim Doyle (26) and Coble (24) did it against Purdue Feb. 24, 2007.
