Feb. 7, 2010
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EVANSTON, Ill. - All five Northwestern starters scored in double figures and the Wildcats opened the game on an 18-4 run and never looked back in defeating Indiana 78-61 Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. John Shurna led the way with 16 points, while Jeremy Nash added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
NU improves to 16-7 overall and 5-6 in the Big Ten with the win while Indiana falls to 9-13 and 3-7.
Northwestern started the game in emphatic fashion as Drew Crawford drove the right baseline and threw down a jam for the contest's first points. The dunk kick-started an 18-4 run to start the game for the Wildcats.
Following an Indiana basket, a 3-pointer by Jeremy Nash gave NU its largest lead of the half at 21-6 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
The hosts maintained a consistent double-digit lead throughout the opening stanza before a lay-up by Jeremiah Rivers in the final minute of play got the Hoosiers to within nine. But a slam by Mike Capocci in the closing seconds of the period allowed the Wildcats to take a 40-29 lead into the break.
Verdell Jones III single-handedly kept Indiana in the game with 14 points. Northwestern got balanced scoring before the break as Luka Mikovic scored 9 points while Michael Thompson and Jeremy Nash added 8 and 7, respectively.
Similar to the start of the game, the Wildcats came out of the gates strong to open the second half. An 8-2 run forced an early Indiana timeout as NU surged out to a 48-31 advantage with 17:28 remaining.
Northwestern's lead grew to as many as 20, 58-38, on Shurna's fifth 3-pointer of the game. Indiana was able to hang around, thanks in part to foul trouble by a number of Wildcats, and closed to within 11 with seven minutes still to go.
But a lay-in by Drew Crawford and a three-point play by Nash extended the advantage to 16 and Indiana never seriously threatened again.
The Wildcats shot 52.1 percent from the field, compared to 35.3 percent for the Hoosiers. NU limited Indiana to just two makes in 17 attempts from 3-point range.
Northwestern returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday as it travels to Iowa.