Dec. 20, 2007
Box Score | Quotes
CHICAGO -- Four Wildcats scored in double figures as Northwestern won its fourth straight with a 77-51 win over Howard on Thursday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The victory was No. 100 for Bill Carmody at Northwestern, allowing him to join Arthur Lonborg as the only head coaches in school history to accomplish the feat.
The win also allowed the Wildcats to complete their first perfect month of December (4-0) since they won all seven of their games during the 1993-94 season.
Sterling Williams and Jason Okrzesik each scored 12 points, Nikola Baran had 11 points and Jeff Ryan added 10 for Northwestern (5-4).
The Wildcats came out of the gates on fire, using an 18-1 run to open up a 25-5 lead 10 minutes into the contest. Northwestern's defense forced eight turnovers during the run and a total of 13 in the first half overall as the 'Cats surged ahead to a commanding 42-18 lead at the intermission.
NU's advantage would grow to as large as 33 points in the second half. All 14 of the individuals who suited up for the Wildcats saw playing time with 10 of them getting in the scoring column. Howard (3-8), on the other hand, had just eight individuals available to play due to injuries. The Bison shot 33.3 percent and committed 25 turnovers.
Craig Moore, Michael Thompson and Ivan Peljusic each added eight points for the Wildcats, who had 22 assists and only 12 turnovers.
NU dominated the play in the paint, outscoring the Bison 52-18. The Wildcats also turned Howard's 25 turnovers into 33 points.
Freshman Kyle Riley had 14 points and Paul Kirkpatrick added 11 for Howard, which missed 11 of its first 12 shots.
The Associated Press contributed to this report