Nov. 26, 2005
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Box Score
ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Northwestern men's basketball team dropped a 59-49 decision Saturday to the DePaul Blue Demons at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. The loss drops Northwestern to 3-2 while DePaul improves to 1-1.
Vedran Vukusic had 22 points for the Wildcats on 9-of-16 shooting, the only Wildcat in double-figures. The Blue Demons had three hit double figures, led by Kerron Clarke's 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Missed shots and second chance points for DePaul ultimately did the Wildcats in as the Blue Demons grabbed 10 offensive rebounds which led to 13 points. DePaul outrebounded the Wildcats 35-22 overall and had 10 offensive boards to five for Northwestern.
"DePaul came out and set the tone early," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "They put us back on our heels and we were out of whack a little bit."
Northwestern started to make shots down the stretch as three-pointers by Vukusic, Evan Seacat and Craig Moore brought the 'Cats back to within three at 52-49 late in the game.
Moore's third triple of the game pulled the Wildcats to within three with 2:08 left, giving the Wildcats a chance to pull out the come-from-behind victory.
But each time the Wildcats got close, DePaul answered with one big shot after another. After a Vukusic three-pointer cut the DePaul lead to 46-41 with 5:08 left, the Blue Demon's answered right back with a Jabari Currie trey, pushing the lead back to eight.
Then after Moore's late three-pointer cut the lead to three with 2:08 remaining, Clarke came right back with a three-pointer of his own on DePaul's next possession to push the lead back to six.
Northwestern missed its final four field goal attempts to end the game and made just three trips to the free throw line the entire game.
In the first half DePaul jumped out to a 12-5 lead, but an 11-4 run by Northwestern, keyed by three-pointers from Moore, Vukusic and Vince Scott, tied the game at 16-16 with 9:15 remaining in the half.
Sterling Williams then tied the game at 18-18 with 7:19 left in the half before the Blue Demons went on a 13-2 run to end the period. DePaul grabbed nine offensive rebounds and outscored the 'Cats 11-2 on second chance points in the opening period.
Vukusic led the Wildcats with 22 points. Craig Moore added nine points off the bench in 33 minutes of action. He also recorded a game-high five assists and had three rebounds.
Northwestern will meet Virginia Wednesday, Nov. 30 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Charlottesville, Va. Game time is 7 p.m. CT and televised on ESPNU.
Postgame Notes: