EVANSTON, Ill. — Forward Vic Law etched his name in the Northwestern record books on Thursday night, becoming the 36th player in program history to record 1,000 career points. The fifth-year senior finished with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Wildcats cruised to an 82-52 victory over New Orleans in the first regular season game at the new Welsh-Ryan Arena.
 
Thursday's victory marked Northwestern's first win at Welsh-Ryan Arena since their dramatic 67-65 win over Michigan on March 1, 2017. The Wildcats have now won 11-straight season openers and are a perfect 6-0 in the contests under Chris Collins.
 
In his first regular-season game with Northwestern, guard Ryan Taylor scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting while hitting a career-high six threes. His six triples are the most by an NU player in an opener since John Shurna hit seven on November 11, 2010 at Northern Illinois.
 
Joining Law and Taylor in double figures was senior center Dererk Pardon, who finished with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for his 10th-career double-double and junior A.J. Turner who finished with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists while sinking a career-high nine free throws.
 
The #B1GCats started the game on an 8-0 run, forcing the Privateers to take their first timeout with 17:52 left in the first half. First-year Miller Kopp made his first-ever start and scored the opening basket in the new Welsh-Ryan Arena, marking his first-career points. Kopp finished the night with nine points, three rebounds and three assists.
 
The Wildcats were hot from behind the arc early as Taylor sunk back-to-back threes midway through the first half to extend Northwestern's lead to double digits. Taylor finished the half with nine points, all coming off threes.
 
Law led all players with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting (3-of-5 from behind the arc) as Northwestern entered the half with a 36-28 lead. The 'Cats buried six threes in the half, while holding New Orleans to zero three pointers on five attempts from deep.
 
New Orleans cut into their deficit to begin the second half, however the Wildcats mounted a 10-0 run beginning with 10:17 remaining in the second half. The hot shooting continued for the Wildcats for the rest of the game, as they ended the game on a 32-11 run.
 
Chicago's Big Ten team will be back in action on Monday night as they host American at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Buy tickets here!

 

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