Northwestern University Athletics
Thompson Nets 38 in Wildcats' 112-105 Overtime Victory
9/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 4, 2010
Note: Due to the lack of internet availability, a live blog of today's contest could not be offered.
VALENZA, Italy - Senior point guard Michael Thompson scored 38 points and the Northwestern men's basketball team netted the first nine points of the overtime period as the Wildcats defeated Fastweb Casale Monferrato in a highly entertaining contest Saturday evening. John Shurna added 26 points and Drew Crawford chipped in with 22 as NU improved to 3-0 on its Italian tour.
Northwestern shot 55 percent from the field (39-71), including hitting 17 of 34 from 3-point range. Thompson led the way, knocking down eight shots from beyond the arch.
The Wildcats dug themselves an early 12-4 deficit, but quickly stormed back to take a 20-18 lead before trailing 29-28 after the opening quarter of play. Thompson scored 14 points before the intermission and NU took a 51-50 lead into the half following a trey by Nick Fruendt from the right wing.
Thompson contributed nine points in the third stanza and had 23 for the game, but NU trailed 72-70 going into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
The deficit was five early on, but Thompson hit a triple and Crawford started a string of 10 straight for the Wildcats with a steal and a breakaway dunk. NU was down four before Shurna hit a trey and then made three from the free throw line to give the 'Cats a 92-90 lead with 2:35 to go. The back-and-forth contest saw Northwestern take a 97-93 edge in the final minute of play before a basket by the hosts trimmed their deficit to two.
Thompson had an opportunity to extend the Wildcats' advantage with 17.1 seconds to play, but he missed twice from the free throw line, giving Fastweb Casale Monferrato a chance to tie or win. A potential game-winning 3-pointer was off the mark, but Tommaso Fantoni's putback with 2.8 seconds remaining forced overtime.
However, it was all Northwestern in the extra session. Crawford started the overtime with a turnaround jumper, prior to a basket by Thompson. Crawford then connected on two from the charity stripe before Thompson nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to extend the lead to nine and the hosts got no closer than five the rest of the way.
Northwestern closes out its Italian tour Sunday with a contest at Pallecanestro Pavia. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. Central time. NUsports.com will offer a live blog, internet availability permitting.
Box Score
Northwestern
Thompson 14-23 2-4 38, Crawford 7-15 5-6 22, Capocci 1-2 0-0 2, Shurna 5-9 10-10 26, Curletti 4-4 0-0 8, Marcotullio 2-5 0-0 6, Mirkovic 1-2 0-0 2, Fruendt 1-1 0-0 3, Peljusic 0-0 0-0 0, Cobb 2-5 0-0 5. Team totals 39-71 17-20 112.
Fastweb Casale Monferrato
Hickman 2-10 4-4 10, Taylor 6-13 5-7 18, Masciardi 2-3 0-0 5, Fantoni 5-9 9-14 19, Ferrero 7-10 3-4 22, Malaventura 2-9 0-0 6, Pierich 7-13 5-5 23, Chiotti 1-2 0-0 2. Team totals 32-69 26-34 105.
3-Point Shooting: NU 17-34 (Thompson 8-15, Crawford 3-8, Marcotullio 2-4, Shurna 2-5, Fruendt 1-1, Cobb 1-1), Fastweb 15-41 (Ferrero 5-7, Pierich 4-8, Hickman 2-8, Malaventura 2-9, Taylor 1-5, Masciadri 1-2, Fantoni 0-2).
Rebounding: NU 33 (Mirkovic 6, Curletti 5, Shurna 5, Crawford 4, Thompson 4, Cobb 3, Capocci 1, Marcotullio 1, TEAM 4), Fastweb 27 (Fantoni 6, Pierich 5, Taylor 5, Chiotti 4, Hickman 3, Ferrero 2, TEAM 2).
Assists: NU 24 (Thompson 6, Mirkovic 5, Curletti 4, Shurna 3, Capocci 3, Crawford 1, Cobb 1, Marcotullio 1), Fastweb 17 (Malaventura 6, Taylor 5, Hickman 3, Pierich 1, Masciadri 1, Ferrero 1).
