Northwestern
Chicago State
Wildcats Cruise Past Chicago State, 75-63
2/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2009
Box Score |
Quotes |
Photo Gallery 
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern stepped out of conference for a matchup against local foe Chicago State and came away with a 75-63 win Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Freshman forward John Shurna sparked the Wildcats with 18 points, 12 of which came during a three-minute span to start the second half.
The win improves NU's record to 13-7 while Chicago State drops to 12-12 this season. The Wildcats, who have won five of their last six games, are off to their best start in 10 seasons.
Northwestern displayed the complete package of efficient passing and shooting on offense and a ball-swarming mentality on defense in besting the Cougars. The Wildcats hit 12 3-pointers and recorded 24 assists on 27 made field goals on the offensive end, while holding Chicago State well below its impressive season scoring average of 82.9 points per game.
Only three Cougars managed to break into the scoring column for Chicago State. David Holston, who entered the game as the nation's leader in made 3-pointers per game (4.8), hit just two long-range shots against NU but still finished with 22 points and seven assists. John Cantrell led all scorers with 29 points, while Carl Montgomery added 12 to account for CSU's 63 points.
Northwestern sharp-shooter Craig Moore, who came into Wednesday's contest ranked 13th nationally with 3.42 treys per game, finished with 19 points, 15 of which came from behind the arc. Junior forward Kevin Coble chipped in 15 points and dished out a career-high-tying seven helpers.
Shurna burst out of the halftime break by scoring Northwestern's first four baskets of the half, all 3-pointers, to build a comfortable 49-33 lead for NU at the 17:02 mark.
Chicago State hung tough but got no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
From there, junior guard Jeremy Nash stepped up the defense for Northwestern, notching a career-high seven steals, including six in the second half, while helping force CSU into 13 percent shooting (2-of-15) from 3-point range.
NU looked as though it would pull away from the Cougars midway through the first half thanks to the reliable 3-point shooting of Moore, who racked up 15 points in the opening 20 minutes. With the 'Cats up by five, the senior connected on back-to-back treys and tacked on three more points at the free throw line after being fouled behind the arc.
Coble then got into the act at the offensive end, sandwiching a pair of reverse layups around a fourth 3-pointer by Moore to lift NU's lead to nine at 30-21.
Soon after, however, Chicago State's Cantrell was on the receiving end of lob pass that he slammed home to swing momentum in the Cougars' favor.
A steal and breakaway layup by Holston slashed NU's lead to one at 30-29 with 4:05 to play in the first.
But Moore responded for the 'Cats with another 3-pointer and Coble scored on a put-back in the paint with three seconds remaining as NU took a 37-31 advantage into the locker room.
Northwestern returns to Big Ten action this weekend, traveling to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes at 5 p.m. Saturday.
